Brunhilda erythronotos
The Black-faced Waxbill (Brunhilda erythronotos) is a captivating small estrildid finch, measuring approximately 12-13 cm in length and weighing around 8-12 grams. Adults are instantly recognizable by their distinctive black facial mask, which extends from the lores to behind the eye, contrasting sharply with dull grey upperparts, neck, breast, and flanks. A vibrant crimson-red rump and uppertail coverts provide a striking splash of color, especially in flight, while the belly is whitish. Its...
Found in arid to semi-arid savannas, grasslands, thornbush scrub, and dry bushland, frequently in proximity to water sources. It inhabits elevations ranging from sea level up to approximately 2000 meters.
Primarily granivorous, feeding on small grass seeds gleaned from the ground. During the breeding season, their diet is supplemented with small insects such as termites, aphids, and small beetles.
Black-faced Waxbills are highly diurnal and gregarious, often forming small, active flocks of 10-30 individuals, sometimes congregating in larger groups of hundreds outside the breeding season. They forage primarily on the ground among grass and low vegetation, moving with quick, agile hops in se...
The Black-faced Waxbill exhibits a discontinuous distribution across southern and eastern Africa, with two primary population centers. The southern population extends across Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and into various provinces of South Africa, including the northern Cape, Free State, G...
Least Concern
- The Black-faced Waxbill is often parasitized by the Shaft-tailed Whydah (Vidua regia), which lays its eggs in the waxbill's nest. - Its scientific name, *erythronotos*, literally translates from Greek as 'red-backed', a direct reference to its distinctive crimson rump. - The elaborate domed nes...