African Citril

African Citril

Crithagra citrinelloides

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Nairobi National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

341 Verified sightings at Nairobi National Park From 2019 to 2026
534 In all 5 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the African Citril

The African citril (Crithagra citrinelloides), also known as the Abyssinian citril, is a species of finch. It is found from Ethiopia and Eritrea to western Kenya. It is closely related to the western and southern citril, to which it was formerly considered conspecific.

The African citril was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the African citril were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.

This bird was studied in the Degua Tembien massif, and observed to be a breeding resident of woodland edges, forest edges and scrubland. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:33

Kenya · 2022

© Lars Lachmann · XC752966 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:36

Kenya · 2018

© James Bradley · XC444919 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:05

Kenya · 2007

© Nature sounds by Simply Birding · XC615651 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
2 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
3 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~10%
4 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
5 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Addis Ababa 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~30%
2 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Citril in Nairobi National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Citril sighting in Nairobi National Park on a given day, based on 341 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 115th most-seen of the 371 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Citril in Nairobi National Park?

April–July and December

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Citril in Nairobi National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January, March and August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an African Citril?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Citril sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Nairobi National Park the best place to see an African Citril?

Yes

Of the 5 parks where we can rate African Citril sightings, Nairobi National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Aberdare National Park (Kenya, about 10%) and Bale Mountains National Park (Ethiopia, about 10%).

Which relatives of the African Citril live in Nairobi National Park?

Same genus: Crithagra

The closest relatives of the African Citril that you can see in Nairobi National Park (genus Crithagra, African Seedeaters, Serins, Canaries, and Citrils) are Reichenow's Seedeater (about 50%), Streaky Seedeater (about 40%) and Brimstone Canary (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the African Citril sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Citril is recorded against all the birds logged in Nairobi National Park (341 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.

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