Cinnyris mariquensis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
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 →
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Mariqua Sunbird sighting in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 118 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, September and November–December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mariqua Sunbird in Waterberg Plateau Park on a given day, against about 20% in March and July, the lowest months. April and June have too few records to rate.
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.
Yes
Of the 33 parks where we can rate Mariqua Sunbird sightings, Waterberg Plateau Park has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come 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 Waterberg Plateau Park (genus Cinnyris, Cinnyris Sunbirds) are White-breasted Sunbird (about 50%) and Dusky Sunbird (about 10%), 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 Waterberg Plateau Park (44 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.
