Red-billed Firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala)
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Red-billed Firefinch

Lagonosticta senegala (Linnaeus, 1766)

9.2 gWeight

The red-billed firefinch or Senegal firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala) is a small seed-eating bird in the family Estrildidae.

Most records: Kenya, Uganda, South Africa

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Most records: Kenya, Uganda, South Africa

Red-billed Firefinch has been recorded at 484 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 37 countries and regions.

Records by month Southern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Nairobi NPKenya1,353 records
  2. Lake Mburo NPUganda511 records
  3. Entebbe Botanical GardenUganda426 records
More places
  1. Nairobi River @ National Museums of KenyaKenya424 records
  2. Zaagkuildrift RdSouth Africa377 records
  3. Parc Urbain Bangr-WeoogoBurkina Faso358 records
  4. Abuko NRGambia339 records
  5. Lake Nakuru NPKenya333 records
  6. Nguuni Nature SanctuaryKenya322 records
  7. Campement de WassadouSenegal319 records

Countries and regions with the most records

KenyaUgandaSouth AfricaGambiaTanzaniaEthiopiaSenegalZambia

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The red-billed firefinch or Senegal firefinch (Lagonosticta senegala) is a small seed-eating bird in the family Estrildidae. This is a resident breeding bird in most of Sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km2. It was introduced to Egypt, but the population there has become extinct.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Red-billed Firefinch?

The Red-billed Firefinch weighs around 9.2 g.

Where does the Red-billed Firefinch live?

Its breeding range: Africa: western, east-central, eastern, southern. It is most often recorded in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.

Is the Red-billed Firefinch endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Red-billed Firefinch as Least Concern.

What does the Red-billed Firefinch eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Red-billed Firefinch in?

It belongs to the family Waxbills, Munias & Allies (Estrildidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
9.2 g
Habitat
Woodland
Diet
Seeds
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
49 mm
Tail
37 mm
Bill
9 mm
Tarsus
12 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Africa: western, east-central, eastern, southern

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Waxbills, Munias & Allies Estrildidae
Genus
Lagonosticta

Other birds in the genus Lagonosticta

African FirefinchAfrican FirefinchLagonosticta rubricataJameson's FirefinchJameson's FirefinchLagonosticta rhodopareiaMali FirefinchMali FirefinchLagonosticta virataRock FirefinchRock FirefinchLagonosticta sanguinodorsalisChad FirefinchChad FirefinchLagonosticta umbrinodorsalisBlack-bellied FirefinchBlack-bellied FirefinchLagonosticta raraBar-breasted FirefinchBar-breasted FirefinchLagonosticta rufopictaBrown FirefinchBrown FirefinchLagonosticta nitidulaBlack-faced FirefinchBlack-faced FirefinchLagonosticta larvataPictorella MannikinPictorella MannikinHeteromunia pectoralis
Red-billed Firefinch

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Axel Hochkirch. ↗

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