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 Swainson with the common waxbill as the type species. The name of the genus is from astrild, the specific epithet of the common waxbill that was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
Species The genus contains 11 species:
Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Black-crowned waxbill Estrilda nonnula Nigeria and Cameroon to southeast Sudan, west Kenya and northwest Tanzania Black-headed waxbill Estrilda atricapilla Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda Kandt's waxbill 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 Anambra waxbill Estrilda poliopareia southern Nigeria Fawn-breasted waxbill 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 Common waxbill Estrilda astrild Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Nigeria, Namibia, Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Cameroon Black-lored waxbill Estrilda nigriloris Democratic Republic of the Congo Black-rumped waxbill 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 Crimson-rumped waxbill Estrilda rhodopyga Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda Arabian waxbill 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.
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