Euodice cantans
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The African silverbill (Euodice cantans) is a small passerine bird formerly considered conspecific with the Asian species Indian silverbill, (Euodice malabarica). This estrildid finch is a common resident breeding bird in dry savanna habitat, south of the Sahara Desert. This species has also been introduced to other countries such as Portugal, Qatar and United States.
The African silverbill was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the binomial name Loxia cantans. The specific epithet is from Latin and means "singing". Gmemlin specified the locality as Africa but this was restricted to Dakar in Senegal by William Lutley Sclater and Cyril Mackworth-Praed in 1918. It is now placed with the Indian silverbill in the genus Euodice that was introduced in 1862 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.
In early literature, the African silverbill and the Indian silverbill (E. malabarica) were treated as conspecific. In 1943, Jean Théodore Delacour united both species in his revision of the Estrildinae. However, in 1964, Colin Harrison studied the two in a strictly comparative manner and concluded that they were two separate species... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 5 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 6 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 8 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dakar | 🇸🇳 Senegal | |
| 2 | Ouagadougou | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | |
| 3 | Maiduguri | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 4 | N'Djamena | 🇹🇩 Chad | |
| 5 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 6 | Serrekunda | 🇬🇲 Gambia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Tierwelt Herberstein | 🇦🇹 Austria |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Silverbill sighting in Awash National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 98th most-seen of the 217 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report an African Silverbill in Awash National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January, April, July–August and October, the lowest months. That is one of Awash National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 85 mm in August. February–March, May and September have too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Silverbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 8 parks where we can rate African Silverbill sightings, Awash National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Samburu National Reserve (Kenya, about 10%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, under 5%).
Same family: Estrildidae
The closest relatives of the African Silverbill that you can see in Awash National Park (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (about 30%), Red-billed Firefinch (about 30%) and Cut-throat (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Silverbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Awash National Park (21 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
