Cinnyris mariquensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The Marico sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis) is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae, which is native to woodlands of the eastern and southern Afrotropics.The bird is typically found in the southeast of the continent of Africa. It is of least concern on the IUCN Red List and has an unknown population size that has yet to be quantified. The Marico sunbird has conservation regions located all over its range, so it is unlikely to go extinct.
It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The African population of Marico sunbird was spotted on various occasions in between July and August 2016 in locations southwest of where its previously believed range ended. These records raised a red flag of a southward range expansion and therefore a more detailed investigation of the range expansion of the species was needed. The range of these birds is expanding into the Northern Cape and Free state provinces in central South Africa.
There are several theories as to why these birds are expanding or changing their range. It is... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mariqua Sunbird sighting in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 400th most-seen of the 519 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mariqua Sunbird in Ngorongoro Conservation Area on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mariqua Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
31st of 33
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Mariqua Sunbird sightings, Ngorongoro Conservation Area ranks 31st at under 5%. The best odds are in Waterberg Plateau Park (Namibia, about 30%), Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Lake Mburo National Park (Uganda, about 30%).
Same genus: Cinnyris
The closest relatives of the Mariqua Sunbird that you can see in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are Variable Sunbird (about 30%), Eastern Double-collared Sunbird (about 20%) and Beautiful Sunbird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mariqua Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (23 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.
