Pytilia melba
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The green-winged pytilia (Pytilia melba) is a small colourful seed-eating bird in the family Estrildidae. It is widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, though it is more rarely seen in central, far southern and coastal western parts of the continent.
The green-winged pytilia was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla melba. No explanation was provided for the specific epithet melba but it could possibly be from a supposed Chinese word or place. Linnaeus based his description on "The Green Gold-Finch" that had been described and illustrated in 1750 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Edwards was uncertain of the origin of his specimen and Linnaeus mistakenly specified the locality as China. The specimen was subsequently assumed to be from Angola, but this was restricted to Luanda in Angola by Phillip Clancey in 1962.
The green-winged pytilia is now placed in the genus Pytilia that was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William Swainson for the red-winged pytilia. Eight subspecies are recognised: P. m.... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kigali | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 3 | Dar es-Salaam | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Lusaka | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 5 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green-winged Pytilia sighting in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 19 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 335th most-seen of the 398 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Green-winged Pytilia in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green-winged Pytilia sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
36th of 36
Of the 36 parks where we can rate Green-winged Pytilia sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 36th at under 5%. The best odds are in Ruaha National Park (Tanzania, about 50%), Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 40%) and Gonarezhou National Park (Zimbabwe, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Estrildidae
The closest relatives of the Green-winged Pytilia that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Purple Grenadier (about 40%), Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (about 20%) and Black-faced Quailfinch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Green-winged Pytilia is recorded against all the birds logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (19 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.
