Crithagra sulphurata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The brimstone canary or bully canary (Crithagra sulphurata) is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in central and southern Africa. This species is found in open, lightly wooded habitats, such as hillsides with trees or scrub and forest edges. In South Africa it occurs mainly in coastal areas, inhabiting coastal bush, shrubs along streams, gardens, and areas with rank vegetation. It is not truly migratory, but undertakes some seasonal movements.
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the brimstone canary in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected at the Cape of Good Hope. He used the French name Le gros-bec du Cap de Bonne Espérance and the Latin Coccothraustes Capitis Bonae Spei. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the brimstone canary. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined... Wikipedia →
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Brimstone Canary sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 347th most-seen of the 469 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.
December
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brimstone Canary in Serengeti National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Serengeti National Park's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against 5 mm in July.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brimstone Canary sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
21st of 25
Of the 25 parks where we can rate Brimstone Canary sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 21st at under 5%. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 30%), Addo Elephant National Park (South Africa, about 30%) and Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 20%).
Same genus: Crithagra
The closest relatives of the Brimstone Canary that you can see in Serengeti National Park (genus Crithagra, African Seedeaters, Serins, Canaries, and Citrils) are White-bellied Canary (about 30%), Yellow-fronted Canary (about 10%) and Reichenow's Seedeater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brimstone Canary is recorded against all the birds logged in Serengeti National Park (40 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.
