African Firefinch
Lagonosticta rubricata
The African Firefinch (Lagonosticta rubricata) is a uncommon munias, parrotfinches, waxbills, and alli found in 33 countries, weighing about 10 g. The African firefinch, also called the blue-billed firefinch, is a common species of estrildid finch found in many parts of Africa.
About the African Firefinch
The African firefinch, also called the blue-billed firefinch, is a common species of estrildid finch found in many parts of Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 5,400,000 km2 (2,100,000 mi2).
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The African firefinch is a small red or red and brown species of estrildid finch. The male has a lead grey crown, nape and neck, merging on to an olive brown mantles with the scapulars, wing coverts and tertials also olive brown, sometimes with a grey tinge. The rump, uppertail coverts, outer tail fathers are deep carmine red, the rest of the tail is black. The underparts from the chin to the belly are deep scarlet, with small white spots on the upper breast and flanks, the scarlet of the flanks continues to the side of the rump. Voice: The song, which is given by both sexes, is made up of various ringing notes which are randomly repeated and interspersed with squeaky whistle, trills and warbles. The alarm call is a harsh ticking which resembles the call of the Eurasian wren. More usual calls are rising trilling twitter " trrrrrrrr-t" and a loud clear "tui-tui-tui-tui", which is often followed by "wink-wink-wink".
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Eritrea, Lesotho, Senegal, Namibia, Togo.
When to see it
The African Firefinch can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify an African Firefinch?
- The African firefinch is a small red or red and brown species of estrildid finch. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is an African Firefinch?
- The African Firefinch is a tiny sized bird weighing about 10 g.
- Where can you see an African Firefinch?
- The African Firefinch occurs in 33 countries, including South Africa, Uganda, Eswatini, Tanzania and Kenya.
- What birds look similar to an African Firefinch?
- The African Firefinch is most easily confused with the Jameson's Firefinch, the Brown Firefinch and the Bar-breasted Firefinch.
- Is the African Firefinch endangered?
- The African Firefinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the African Firefinch for real
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