Estrilda Explained

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.

Taxonomy

The genus Estrilda was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalist William John Swainson with the common waxbill as the type species.^[1] The name of the genus is from astrild, the specific epithet of the common waxbill that was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.^[2]

Species

The genus contains 11 species:^[3]

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
		Estrilda nonnula	Nigeria and Cameroon to southeast Sudan, west Kenya and northwest Tanzania
		Estrilda atricapilla	Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda
		Estrilda kandti	central Africa
	Orange-cheeked waxbill	Estrilda melpoda	Angola, Benin, Bermuda, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Zambia
		Estrilda poliopareia	southern Nigeria
		Estrilda paludicola	Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
		Estrilda astrild	Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Nigeria, Namibia, Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Cameroon
		Estrilda nigriloris	Democratic Republic of the Congo
		Estrilda troglodytes	Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France (introduced by Guadeloupe), Gambia, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Portugal (introduced), Puerto Rico, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, Uganda
		Estrilda rhodopyga	Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda
		Estrilda rufibarba	Yemen and southwestern Saudi Arabia

The genus formerly contained other species with "waxbill" in their common name that are now placed in the genera Coccopygia, Brunhilda and Glaucestrilda.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Swainson . William John . William John Swainson . 1827 . On several groups and forms in ornithology, not hitherto defined . Zoological Journal . 3 . 343–363 [349–350] .
2. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 151 .
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . January 2023 . Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits . IOC World Bird List Version 13.1 . International Ornithologists' Union . 10 February 2023 .