Euodice cantans
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Silverbill sighting in Serengeti National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 447th most-seen of the 469 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an African Silverbill in Serengeti National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
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.
8th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate African Silverbill sightings, Serengeti National Park ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 20%), 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 Serengeti National Park (family Estrildidae, Waxbills and Allies) are Blue-capped Cordonbleu (about 30%), Purple Grenadier (about 30%) and Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (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 Serengeti National Park (7 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.
