Animal coloration has long been predicted to vary across geographic and climatic gradients in accordance with a longstanding ecogeographical rule. But further to his widely supported predictions that melanin pigmentation increases towards the Equator, Gloger observed that reds and yellows are more vivid in warm regions and thus more prevalent at lower latitudes, a prediction supported further by Görnitz who suggested these colors would be more intense in areas with higher rainfall. Yet, studies of the associations between geography or climate and carotenoid-based plumage coloration to test these observations at a continental scale are scarce. Here, we investigated the extent to which yellow and red feather color vary according to these hypotheses in Pogoniulus tinkerbirds with distributions across sub-Saharan Africa. We tested first for associations of feather color with geography along latitudinal or elevational gradients; and then for associations with the climatic factors of rainfall and temperature that may underpin color variation on continental scales. We find evidence consistent with Gloger and Görnitz’s observations; that more saturated colors and warmer hues at lower latitudes were primarily attributed to a relationship of underpart color with temperature and rainfall. By contrast, forecrown color, a trait previously associated with sexual selection, had a more complex association with geography and climate, with red forecrown hue associated with rainfall, but yellow intensity showing contrasting patterns with latitude. We highlight the complex nature of carotenoid-based plumage coloration, suggesting that although environmental factors affect the abundance of carotenoid availability, plumage coloration is also influenced by other selective pressures.