What does estrilda mean?

Estrilda is a genus of estrildid finch in the family Estrildidae. Most of the genus is found in Africa with one species, the Arabian waxbill, ranging into Asia. Some species are kept as pets and have been accidentally introduced to various parts of the world.

Is a waxbill a finch?

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.

What does a waxbill eat?

grass seeds
Food and feeding The blue waxbill mainly eats grass seeds, which are taken from the inflorescences. This is supplemented with termites and other insects. They have also been recorded eating the fallen fruits of Boscia albitrunca.

Where does the waxbill live?

The St. Helena’s natural habitat ranges from South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Island of St. Helena. These little finches are called Common Waxbills in South Africa, indicating how numerous they are.

Where do Waxbills nest?

Both sexes build the nest, an oval-shaped structure with a short entrance tunnel on the side, constructed of grass stems and inflorescences and lined with feathers. The nest is normally placed among the foliage of a bush or tree, especially umbrella thorn and sickle bush Dichrostachys cinerea.

How big is a common waxbill?

0.31 oz
Common waxbill/Mass

What do common Waxbills eat?

The orange-cheeked variety eats the seed heads (panicles) of grass and forage at the roots for aphids, termites and other tiny insects. They even hang upside down from stems to eat! Waxbills favor tiny, protein-rich insects like aphids and a wide variety of insects especially during the breeding season.

What does common waxbill eat?

Diet. Their primary diet consists of grass seeds but small insects are also favoured by the Rooibeksysie.