Return to Estrildid Finches

Names of all Estrildids

In the nomenclature of the taxonomy of birds, the Estrildid Finches are classified as the family of Estrididae.
The Estrildid Finches, or Estrildids, includes all: Waxbills, Firefinches, Twinspots, Avadavats, Negro finches, Quail finches, Olive backs, Pytilias, Seedcrackers, Amadinas, Firetails, Grass finches, Parrot finches, Munias and Mannikins.

On Internet you will find many pictures of these birds. I have found that often the wrong bird names are presented with  these pictures. Most reliable are the scientific specie names. Many popular names are derived from them.

All scientific names of the Estrildid Finches, shown on this website and in my books, are correct. These names are mostly adopted from the Complete checklist of the birds of the world by Howard and Moore, 3e edition (up to and incl. corrigenda 8, October 2008, timely at 1st January 2013).
Many of these species I have bred in captivity in the past. See: My birds

All species on the list below belong to the family Estrildidae, and are displayed and described in my book ‘Estrildid finches in the picture’.

This list also contains Lonchuras of which no universal classification is accepted and as a result the popular names lack uniformity and there is a lot of confusion. In my book I classified the Estrildid finches according to their evolutionary origin and therefore it was also possible to classify the Lonchuras.

 


Scientific name
English name Synonyms


Chapter 2 AMANDAVAS
Amandava amandava Red Avadavat  Strawberry Finch
Amandava formosa Green Avadavat
Amandava subflava Goldbreast astrild Zebra waxbill 
     

Scientific name

English name

Synonyms

Chapter 3 FIREFINCHES
Lagonosticta rubricata African Firefinch Dark Firefinch
Lagonosticta nitidula Brown Firefinch
Lagonosticta rufopicta Bar-breasted Firefinch
Lagonosticta landanae Pale-billed Firefinch
Lagonosticta virata Mali Firefinch
Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis Rock Firefinch
Lagonosticta rhodopareia Jameson’s Firefinch
Lagonosticta senegala Red-billed Firefinch
Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis Chad Firefinch
Lagonosticta rara Black-bellied Firefinch
Lagonosticta larvata Black-faced Firefinch
Lagonosticta l. vinacea Vinaceus Firefinch

Scientific name

English name

Synonyms

Chapter 4 ESTRILDS
Coccopygia quartinia Yellow-bellied Waxbill
Coccopygia melanotis Swee waxbill
Estrilda poliopareia Anambra  Waxbill
Estrilda melpoda Orange-cheeked  Waxbill
Estrilda paludicola Fawn-breasted Waxbill
Estrilda astrild Common Waxbill
Estrilda rufibarba Arabian Waxbill
Estrilda rhodopyga Rosy-rumped Waxbill  Sundevall’s waxbill
Estrilda troglodytus Black-rumped Waxbill
Estrilda nigriloris Black-lored Waxbill Black-faced Waxbill, Kiabo Waxbill
Estrilda atricappila Black-headed Waxbill
Estrilda kandti Kandt’s Waxbill
Estrilda nonnula Black-crowned Waxbill
Estrilda erythronotos Black-cheeked Waxbill
Estrilda charmosyna Red-rumped Waxbill
Estrilda caerulescens Lavender Waxbill
Estrilda perreini Black-tailed Waxbill
Estrilda thomensis Cinderella  Waxbill

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 5  CRIMSON-WINGS
Cryptospiza reichenovii Red-faced Crimson-wing
Cryptospiza salvadorii Abyssinian Crimson-wing
Cryptospiza jacksoni Dusky Crimson-wing
Cryptospiza shelleyi Shelley’s Crimson-wing

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 6 BLUE-RUMPED WAXBILLS
Uraeginthus bengalus Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
Uraeginthus angolensis Southern Cordon-bleu Blue Waxbill
Uraeginthus cyanocephalus Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
Granatina granatina Violet-eared Waxbill
Granatina ianthinogaster Purple Grenadier

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 7 NEGRO-FINCHES and ANTPECKERS
Nigrita bicolor Chestnut-breasted Negro-finch
Nigrita luteifrons Pale-fronted  Negro-finch
Nigrita canicapillus Grey-headed  Negro-finch
Nigrita fusconotus White-breasted  Negro-finch
Parmoptila woodhousei Woodhouse’s Antpecker
Parmoptila rubrifrons Gold-Coast Antpecker
Parmoptila jamesoni Jameson’s Antpecker

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 8 TWINSPOTS
Clytospiza monteiri Brown Twinspot
Euschistospiza dybowskii Dybowski’s Twinspot
Euschistospiza cinereovinacea Dusky Twinspot
Hypargos margaritatus Pink-throated Twinspot Rose Twinspot
Hypargos niveoguttatus Peter’s Twinspot
Mandingoa nitidula Green-backed Twinspot

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 9 QUAILFINCHES
Ortygospiza atricollis West-African Qualfinch
Ortygospiza fuscocrissa African Qualfinch
Ortygospiza locustella Locust-Finch
Ortygospiza gabonensis Black-chinned Qualfinch

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 10 OLIVE-BACKS
Nesocharis ansorgei White-colored Olive-back
Nesocharis shelleyi Fernando Po Olive-back
Nesocharis capistrata Grey-headed Olive-back

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Capter 11  PYTILIAS
Pytilia lineata Ethiopian Aurora Finch
Pytilia phoenicoptera Red-winged Pytilia
Pytilia melba Green-winged Pytilia Melba Finch
Pytilia hypogrammica Yellow-winged Pytilia
Pytila afra Orange-winged Pytilia

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 12 SEEDCRACKERS
Pyrenestus ostrinus Black-bellied Seedcracker
Pyrenestus minor Lesser Seedcracker
Pyrenestus sanguineus Crimson Seedcracker
Spermophaga haematina Western Bluebill
Spermophaga ruficapilla Red-headed Bluebill
Spermophaga poliogenys Grant’s Bluebill

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 13 CUTTHROATS
Amadina fasciata Cutthroat Finch
Amadina erythrocephala Red-headed Finch

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 14 AUSTRALIAN FINCHES AND FIRETAILS
Emblema picta Painted Finch Emblema Picta
Neochmia ruficauda Star Finch
Neochmia modesta Plum-headed Finch Ceres Finch
Neochmia temporalis Red-browed Finch
Neochmia phaeton Crimson Finch
Oreostruthus fuliginosus Mountain Firetail
Poephila cincta Black-throated Finch
Poephila personata Masked Finch
Poephila acuticauda Long-tailed Finch
Stagonopleura guttata Diamond Firetail
Stagonopleura oculata Red-eared Firetail
Stagonopleura bella Beautiful Firetail
Stizoptera bichenovii Double-barred Finch Bichanow Finch
Taeniopygia guttata Zebra Finch
Erythrura gouldiae Gouldian Finch

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 15  PARROTFINCHES
Erythrura hyperythra Tawny-breasted Parrotfinch Bambu Parrotfinch
Erythrura viridifacies Green-faced Parrotfinch
Erythrura trichroa Blue-faced Parrotfinch
Erythrura papuana Papuan Parrotfinch
Erythrura tricolor Tricolor Parrotfinch
Erythrura prasina Pin-tailed Parrotfinch
Erythrura coloria Red-eared Parrotfinch Coloria  Parrotfinch
Erythrura psittacea Red-throated Parrotfinch
Erythrura cyaneovirens Red-headed Parrotfinch Peale’s Parrotfinch
Erythrura regia Royal Parrotfinch
Erythrura kleinschmidti Pink-billed  Parrotfinch

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 16 MANNIKINS (BRONZEMAN)
Lonchura kelaarti Black-throated Mannikin
Lonchura fuscans Dusky Mannikin
Lonchura leucogastroidus Java Mannikin
Lonchura molucca Black-faced Mannikin
Lonchura punctulata Scaly-breasted  Mannikin
Lonchura striata White-rumped  Mannikin
Lonchura tristissima Streak-headed  Mannikin
Lonchura leucosticta White-spotted Mannikin
Lonchura leucogastra White-bellied Mannikin

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 17 MUNIAS  (NONS)
Lonchura vana Grey-banded Munia
Lonchura pallida Pale-headed Munia
Lonchura grandis Grand Munia
Lonchura malacca Black-headed Munia
Lonchura atricapilla Chestnut Munia
Lonchura ferruginosa White-capped Munia
Lonchura forbesi New-Ireland Munia
Lonchura caniceps Grey-headed Munia
Lonchura stygia Black Munia
Lonchura hunsteini White-cowled Munia
Lonchura spectabilis Hooded Munia
Lonchura quinticolor Five-coloured Munia
Lonchura maja White-headed Munia
Lonchura nevermanni Grey-crowned Munia

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 18 MUNIAS (MAGPIES) 
Lonchura bicolor Black-and-White Munia
Lonchura nana Madagascar Munia
Lonchura cucullata Bronze Munia
Lonchura fringilloidus Magpie Munia

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Hoofdstuk 19 MUNIAS (REEDFINCHES)
Lonchura castaneothorax Chestnut-breasted Munia
Lonchura teerinki Black-breasted Munia
Lonchura flaviprimna Yellow-rumped MUnia
Lonchura melaena Bismarck Munia
Lonchura monticola Alpine Munia
Lonchura montana Snow Mountain Munia
Heteromunia pectoralis Pictorella Munia Pictorella Finch

Scientific name
English name Synonyms

Chapter 20 SILVERBILLS AND SPARROWS
Lonchura malabarica Indian Silverbill
Lonchura griseicapilla Grey-headed Silverbill
Lonchura cantans African Silverbill
Lonchura oryzivora Java Sparrow
Lonchura fuscata TimorSparrow