Bates's Sunbird is a small sunbird of African forests and forest edges. Its dark olive upperparts contrast with a pale eyebrow and yellow-edged wings.
The upperparts are dark olive, with a pale stripe above the eye. The dark brown wings have pale yellow edges, and the tail is black.
It uses forests, forest edges, and plantations of tall trees, and feeds on nectar, berries, fruit, insects, and spiders.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.