Blue Waxbill
Uraeginthus angolensis
Thornveld. Underparts blue; above brown.
Finches, Mannikins, Twinspots, Waxbills
LC
Not Endemic
Description
Very common resident. Easily identified by powder-blue underparts (extent variable). Immature paler than female, bill black. Calls frequently on the ground and in flight, a high-pitched ‘weet-weet’; also has a complicated song. Pairs and small parties – frequently with other small seedeaters – occur in dry thornveld, often in dry watercourses and bare patches of ground under bushes and in kraals. Flies into bushes when disturbed. Never far from water. Nomadic, moving into suburbia in dry winters.
Quick Facts
Size
12-14 cm - S
Names
A: Gewone Blousysie
Z: isicelankobe
Ss: Borane-Putswapududu
G: Angola-Schmetterlingsfink
Bird Family
Small, conical-billed, ground- or grass-feeding seed-eaters, although some will also eat insects. They usually have colourful plumage, although females are usually more drab than males. They generally occur in pairs, or are gregarious when not breeding.
Distribution
Gallery
Behaviour
Breeding
Habitat
Pairs and small parties – frequently with other small seedeaters – occur in dry thornveld, often in dry watercourses and bare patches of ground under bushes and in kraals.
