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To the Beauty of Birds

The Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild), also known as the St Helena waxbill, is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa but has been introduced to many other regions of the world and now has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km2. It is popular and easy to keep in captivity.

It is a small bird, 11 to 13 centimetres in length. It has a slender body with short rounded wings and a long graduated tail. The bright red bill of the adult is the color of sealing wax giving the bird its name. The plumage is mostly grey-brown, finely barred with dark brown. There is a red stripe through the eye and the cheeks and throat are whitish. There is often a pinkish flush to the underparts and a reddish stripe along the centre of the belly depending on the subspecies. The rump is brown and the tail and vent are dark. Females are similar to the males but are paler with less red on the belly.

This bird was photographed at the Masai Mara, Kenya.

Common Waxbill

Common Waxbill 2046

Common Waxbill 1971