Black-faced Quailfinch

Black-faced Quailfinch

Ortygospiza atricollis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Kruger National Park

In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%

118 Verified sightings at Kruger National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,359 In all 16 parks
November Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Black-faced Quailfinch

The black-faced quailfinch (Ortygospiza atricollis atricollis), is a common subspecies of estrildid finch found in western and central of Africa. Some taxonomists consider it to be conspecific with the African quailfinch, others consider all three species to be conspecific.

BirdLife Species Factsheet Quail Finch/Black-faced quailfinch - Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds. African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza atricollis) - Species page in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:17

Zambia · 2022

© Dries Van de Loock · XC758508 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call0:12

South Africa · 2021

© Lynette Rudman · XC648492 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:49

Mozambique · 2016

© Jude Allport · XC316699 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~20%
2 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
3 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
~10%
4 Kidepo Valley National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
5 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
6 Serengeti National Park 🇹🇿 Tanzania
~10%
7 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
8 Murchison Falls National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
9 Hwange National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
<5%
10 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
11 Samburu National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
12 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
13 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
14 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
15 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
<5%
16 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Zoo Pilsen 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Black-faced Quailfinch in Kruger National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-faced Quailfinch sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 118 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 288th most-seen of the 464 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Black-faced Quailfinch in Kruger National Park?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-faced Quailfinch in Kruger National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Black-faced Quailfinch?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-faced Quailfinch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Kruger National Park the best place to see a Black-faced Quailfinch?

13th of 16

Of the 16 parks where we can rate Black-faced Quailfinch sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 13th at under 5%. The best odds are in Nairobi National Park (Kenya, about 20%), Masai Mara National Reserve (Kenya, about 10%) and Kafue National Park (Zambia, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Black-faced Quailfinch live in Kruger National Park?

Same family: Estrildidae

The closest relatives of the Black-faced Quailfinch that you can see in Kruger National Park (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Blue-breasted Cordonbleu (about 50%), Green-winged Pytilia (about 20%) and Red-billed Firefinch (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Black-faced Quailfinch sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Black-faced Quailfinch is recorded against all the birds logged in Kruger National Park (118 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.

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