Chalcoparia singalensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The ruby-cheeked sunbird (Chalcoparia singalensis) is a species of sunbird in the family Nectariniidae. The ruby-cheeked sunbird was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the wagtails in the genus Motacilla and coined the binomial name Motacilla singalensis. Gmelin erroneously specified the type locality as Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) where the species does not occur. The locality was designated as Malacca on the Malay Peninsula by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser in 1912. Gmelin based his account on the "green warbler" from the East Indies that had been described and illustrated in 1776 by the English naturalist Peter Brown. The ruby-cheeked sunbird is now the only species placed in the genus Chalcoparia that was introduced in 1850 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The genus name is from Ancient Greek khalkoparēos meaning "with cheeks of bronze". The specific epithet is from the erroneous type locality, Sri Lanka.
Eleven subspecies are recognised: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 4 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Cat Tien National Park | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 6 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 7 | Tanjung Puting National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 8 | Khao Luang National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 9 | Khao Yai National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 10 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 11 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 12 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 13 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 15 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 16 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 17 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 18 | Doi Inthanon National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 19 | Royal Manas National Park | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | |
| 20 | Namdapha National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Jakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Guwahati | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Bangkok | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ruby-cheeked Sunbird sighting in Kinabalu Park on a given day, based on 60 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 118th most-seen of the 247 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ruby-cheeked Sunbird in Kinabalu Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ruby-cheeked Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
16th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Ruby-cheeked Sunbird sightings, Kinabalu Park ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Sepilok (Malaysia, about 30%), Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 30%) and Kaeng Krachan National Park (Thailand, about 20%).
Same family: Nectariniidae
The closest relatives of the Ruby-cheeked Sunbird that you can see in Kinabalu Park (family Nectariniidae, Sunbirds and Spiderhunters) are Temminck's Sunbird (about 60%), Whitehead's Spiderhunter (about 20%) and Brown-throated Sunbird (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ruby-cheeked Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Kinabalu Park (60 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
