Cinnyris habessinicus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The Abyssinian sunbird (Cinnyris habessinicus), formerly the shining sunbird, is a species of passerine bird in the sunbird family Nectariniidae. The Arabian sunbird was formerly treated as a subspecies. Three subspecies are recognised:
The Abyssinian sunbird is highly dimorphic and has three distinct plumages, juvenile, immature and adult. Adult males in breeding plumage have brilliant metallic green upperparts and throat, a violet or blue crown, a bright red band across the breast with a narrow line of metallic blue, and blue-black wings and tail. The females are brownish-buff, paler below. These small sunbirds mainly feed on nectar and small insects.
It is found in Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Shining Sunbird sighting in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, based on 32 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 227th most-seen of the 341 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.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Shining Sunbird in Samburu National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months. That is one of Samburu National Reserve's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against 5 mm in September.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Shining Sunbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Shining Sunbird sightings, Samburu National Reserve ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 40%).
Same genus: Cinnyris
The closest relatives of the Shining Sunbird that you can see in Samburu National Reserve (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are Black-bellied Sunbird (about 20%) and Mariqua Sunbird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Shining Sunbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Samburu National Reserve (32 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.
