Estrilda erythronotos
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The black-faced waxbill (Brunhilda erythronotos) is a common species of estrildid finch found in southern Africa. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The IUCN has classified the species as being of least concern.
The black-faced waxbill was formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot and given the binary name Fringilla erythronotos. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek eruthros meaning "red" and
-nōtos meaning "-backed". The type locality is Kurrichane (Kaditshwene) in the North West province of South Africa. This species was formerly placed in the genus Estrilda. When a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that Estrilda was paraphyletic, the genus Brunhilda was resurrected for this species and the black-cheeked waxbill.
Two subspecies are recognised: Species text in The Atlas of Southern... Wikipedia →
Recording0:31
Botswana · 2020
© Dewald du Plessis · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serengeti National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 2 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 3 | Ngorongoro Conservation Area | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Waterberg Plateau Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Ruaha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 8 | Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 9 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 11 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 12 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 13 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 14 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 15 | Amboseli National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 16 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 17 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 18 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 19 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Tierpark Hagenbeck | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-faced Waxbill sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 68 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 150th most-seen of the 260 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–July and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-faced Waxbill in Etosha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and November–May, the lowest months. Those are among Etosha National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 75 mm in January.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-faced Waxbill sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
11th of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Black-faced Waxbill sightings, Etosha National Park ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Serengeti National Park (Tanzania, about 10%), Mkomazi National Park (Tanzania, about 10%) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania, about 10%).
Same family: Estrildidae
The closest relatives of the Black-faced Waxbill that you can see in Etosha National Park (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Red-headed Finch (about 40%), Blue-breasted Cordonbleu (about 20%) and Violet-eared Waxbill (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-faced Waxbill is recorded against all the birds logged in Etosha National Park (68 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.
