Red-billed Firefinch ( Lagonosticta senegala, family: Estrildidae)

red billed fire finch kruger national park birds The Red-billed Firefinch (Latin name Lagonosticta senegala) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 842 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 1061 also a picture of the Red-billed Firefinch on page 1056. The Red-billed Firefinch belongs to the family of birds classified as Estrildidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Red-billed Firefinch is also known by these other names: Firefinch, Common Firefinch, Senegal Firefinch.

In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Red-billed Firefinch was called the

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

Red Billed Firefinch The Red-billed Firefinch is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park. It is however a common resident

In terms of distribution of the Red-billed Firefinch in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-billed Firefinch : see above distribution map.

The Red-billed Firefinch.

Identification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Red-billed Firefinch is an extremely small bird about half the size of a house sparrow. The height of the Red-billed Firefinch is about 10 cms and its weight is about 10 gms

You will find that the male Red-billed Firefinch plumage and colours are different to that of the female Red-billed Firefinch

  • Head is red, pink.
  • Eye is red.
  • Bill is black.
  • Throat is red, brown.
  • Back is pink, red.
  • Legs are pink.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Red-billed Firefinch feeds on the ground and in foliage mainly

Invertebrates

Seeds

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Red-billed Firefinch is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Lagonosticta senegala will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Red-billed Firefinch is to create the nest in branches of a tree or shrub. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 6

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Red-billed Firefinch are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Red-billed Firefinch in pairs or flocks and not as single birds.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Rooibekvuurvinkie

German ... Senegal-Amarant, Amarant

Portuguese ... Peito-de-fogo-de-bico-vermelho

French ... Amarante du Sngal

Dutch ... Vuurvinkje

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 842

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za