# Estrildidae

Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills.
They are gregarious and often colonial seed eaters with short, thick, but pointed bills. They are all similar in structure and habits, but vary widely in plumage colours and patterns.
All estrildids build large, domed nests and lay five to ten white eggs. Many species build roost nests. Some of the firefinches and pytilias are hosts to the brood-parasitic indigobirds and whydahs, respectively.
Most are sensitive to cold and require warm, usually tropical, habitats, although a few, such as the eastern alpine mannikin, mountain firetail, red-browed finch, and the genus Stagonopleura, have adapted to the cooler climates of southern Australia and the highlands of New Guinea.
The smallest species of the family is the Shelley's oliveback (Nesocharis shelleyi) at a mere 8.3 cm (3.3 in), although the lightest species is the black-rumped waxbill (Estrilda troglodytes) at 6 g (0.21 oz). The largest species is the Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora) at 17 cm (6.7 in) and 25 g (0.88 oz).

## Taxonomy

The family Estrildidae was introduced in 1850 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte as "Estreldinae", a spelling variant of the subfamily name. In the list of world birds maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) the family contains 140 species divided into 41 genera. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown the family Estrildidae is sister to the family Viduidae containing the indigobirds and whydahs. The two families diverged around 15.5 million year ago. The most recent common ancestor of the Estrildidae is estimated to have lived around 10.9 million years ago. A genetic study of the Estrildidae by Urban Olsson and Per Alström published in 2020 identified 6 major clades. The radiations within these clades occurred between 4.5 and 8.9 million years ago. The authors proposed that each of these clades should be treated as a subfamily. This contrasts with an earlier proposal in which the family was divided into three subfamilies.
Poephilinae
Heteromunia – pictorella mannikin
Oreostruthus – mountain firetail
Stagonopleura – firetails (3 species)
Neochmia – finches (2 species)
Emblema – painted finch
Bathilda – star finch
Aidemosyne – plum-headed finch
Stizoptera – double-barred finch
Taeniopygia – zebra finch
Poephila – finches (3 species)
Lonchurinae
Spermestes – mannikins, silverbill (4 species)
Lepidopygia – Madagascar mannikin
Euodice – silverbills (2 species)
Padda – sparrows (2 species)
Mayrimunia – streak-headed mannikin
Lonchura – munias, mannikins (28 species)
Erythrurinae
Chloebia – Gouldian finch
Erythrura – parrotfinches (12 species)
Estrildinae
Nesocharis – olivebacks (2 species)
Coccopygia – waxbills (3 species)
Mandingoa – green twinspot
Cryptospiza – crimsonwings (4 species)
Parmoptila – antpeckers (3 species)
Nigrita – nigritas (4 species)
Delacourella – grey-headed oliveback
Brunhilda – waxbills (2 species)
Glaucestrilda – waxbills (3 species)
Estrilda – waxbills (11 species)
Amandavinae
Ortygospiza – quailfinch
Amadina – finches (2 species)
Amandava – avadavats, waxbill (3 species)
Lagonostictinae
Granatina – grenadier, waxbill (2 species)
Uraeginthus – cordon-bleus, waxbill (3 species)
Spermophaga – bluebills (3 species)
Pyrenestes – seedcrackers (3 species)
Pytilia – pytilias (5 species)
Euschistospiza – twinspots (2 species)
Hypargos – twinspots (2 species)
Clytospiza – brown twinspot
Lagonosticta – firefinches (10 species) :
Phylogeny based on a study of the Estrildidae by Urban Olsson and Per Alström published in 2020. The locust finch in the genus Paludipasser was not included in the study. :

### Genera list

| Genus | Living species |
| Heteromunia Mathews, 1913 | Pictorella mannikin, Heteromunia pectoralis |
| Oreostruthus De Vis, 1898 | Mountain firetail, Oreostruthus fuliginosus |
| Stagonopleura Reichenbach, 1850 | Beautiful firetail, Stagonopleura bella Red-eared firetail, Stagonopleura oculata Diamond firetail, Stagonopleura guttata |
| Neochmia Gray, GR, 1849 | Red-browed finch, Neochmia temporalis Crimson finch, Neochmia phaeton |
| Emblema Gould, 1842 | Painted finch, Emblema pictum |
| Bathilda Reichenbach, 1862 | Star finch, Bathilda ruficauda |
| Aidemosyne Reichenbach, 1862 | Plum-headed finch, Aidemosyne modesta |
| Stizoptera Oberholser, 1899 | Double-barred finch, Stizoptera bichenovii |
| Taeniopygia Reichenbach, 1862 | Sunda zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata Australian zebra finch, Taeniopygia castanotis |
| Poephila Gould, 1842 | Masked finch, Poephila personata Long-tailed finch, Poephila acuticauda Black-throated finch, Poephila cincta |
| Spermestes Swainson, 1837 | Grey-headed silverbill, Spermestes griseicapilla Bronze mannikin, Spermestes cucullata, also known as bronze munia Magpie mannikin, Spermestes fringilloides, also known as magpie munia Black-and-white mannikin, Spermestes bicolor, also known as black-and-white munia |
| Lepidopygia Reichenbach, 1862 | Madagascar mannikin, Lepidopygia nana |
| Euodice Reichenbach, 1862 | African silverbill, Euodice cantans Indian silverbill, Euodice malabarica also known as white-throated munia |
| Padda Reichenbach, 1850 | Java sparrow, Padda oryzivora Timor sparrow, Padda fuscata |
| Mayrimunia Wolters, 1949 | Streak-headed mannikin, Mayrimunia tristissima White-spotted mannikin, Mayrimunia cinereovinacea |
| Lonchura Sykes, 1832 | Scaly-breasted munia, Lonchura punctulata, also known as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch Black-throated munia, Lonchura kelaarti, also known as Jerdon's mannikin Black-faced munia, Lonchura molucca White-rumped munia, Lonchura striata Dusky munia, Lonchura fuscans White-bellied munia, Lonchura leucogastra New Hanover mannikin, Lonchura nigerrima Tricolored munia, Lonchura malacca Chestnut munia, Lonchura atricapilla White-capped munia, Lonchura ferruginosa White-headed munia, Lonchura maja Pale-headed munia, Lonchura pallida Great-billed mannikin, Lonchura grandis Black-breasted mannikin, Lonchura teerinki Western alpine mannikin, Lonchura montana Eastern alpine mannikin, Lonchura monticola Grey-banded mannikin, Lonchura vana Grey-crowned mannikin, Lonchura nevermanni Hooded mannikin, Lonchura spectabilis Mottled mannikin, Lonchura hunsteini New Hanover mannikin, Lonchura nigerrima Forbes's mannikin, Lonchura forbesi Javan munia, Lonchura leucogastroides Yellow-rumped mannikin, Lonchura flaviprymna Five-colored munia, Lonchura quinticolor Chestnut-breasted mannikin, Lonchura castaneothorax Black mannikin, Lonchura stygia Buff-bellied mannikin, Lonchura melaena |
| Chloebia Reichenbach, 1862 | Gouldian finch, Chloebia gouldiae |
| Erythrura Swainson, 1837 | Tawny-breasted parrotfinch, Erythrura hyperythra Pin-tailed parrotfinch, Erythrura prasina Green-faced parrotfinch, Erythrura viridifacies Tricolored parrotfinch, Erythrura tricolor Blue-faced parrotfinch, Erythrura trichroa Red-eared parrotfinch, Erythrura coloria Papuan parrotfinch, Erythrura papuana Red-throated parrotfinch, Erythrura psittacea Fiji parrotfinch, Erythrura pealii Red-headed parrotfinch, Erythrura cyaneovirens Royal parrotfinch, Erythrura regia Pink-billed parrotfinch, Erythrura kleinschmidti |
| Nesocharis Alexander, 1903 | White-collared oliveback, Nesocharis ansorgei Shelley's oliveback, Nesocharis shelleyi |
| Coccopygia Reichenbach, 1862 | Yellow-bellied waxbill, Coccopygia quartinia Swee waxbill, Coccopygia melanotis Angola waxbill, Coccopygia bocagei |
| Mandingoa Hartert, E, 1919 | Green-backed twinspot, Mandingoa nitidula |
| Cryptospiza Salvadori, 1884 | Red-faced crimsonwing, Cryptospiza reichenovii Abyssinian crimsonwing, Cryptospiza salvadorii Dusky crimsonwing, Cryptospiza jacksoni Shelley's crimsonwing, Cryptospiza shelleyi |
| Parmoptila Cassin, 1859 | Red-fronted antpecker, Parmoptila rubrifrons Jameson's antpecker, Parmoptila jamesoni – often included in P. rubrifrons Woodhouse's antpecker, Parmoptila woodhousei |
| Nigrita Strickland, 1843 | White-breasted nigrita, Nigrita fusconotus Chestnut-breasted nigrita, Nigrita bicolor Pale-fronted nigrita, Nigrita luteifrons Grey-headed nigrita, Nigrita canicapillus |
| Delacourella Wolters, 1949 | Grey-headed oliveback, Delacourella capistrata |
| Brunhilda Reichenbach, 1862 | Black-faced waxbill, Brunhilda erythronotos Black-cheeked waxbill, Brunhilda charmosyna |
| Glaucestrilda Roberts, 1922 | Lavender waxbill, Glaucestrilda caerulescens Grey waxbill, Glaucestrilda perreini Cinderella waxbill, Glaucestrilda thomensis |
| Estrilda Swainson, 1827 | Black-crowned waxbill, Estrilda nonnula Black-headed waxbill, Estrilda atricapilla Kandt's waxbill, Estrilda kandti Orange-cheeked waxbill, Estrilda melpoda Anambra waxbill, Estrilda poliopareia Fawn-breasted waxbill, Estrilda paludicola Common waxbill, Estrilda astrild Black-lored waxbill, Estrilda nigriloris Black-rumped waxbill, Estrilda troglodytes Crimson-rumped waxbill, Estrilda rhodopyga Arabian waxbill, Estrilda rufibarba |
| Ortygospiza Sundevall, 1850 | Quailfinch, Ortygospiza atricollis |
| Paludipasser Neave, 1909 | Locust finch, Paludipasser locustella |
| Amadina Swainson, 1827 | Cut-throat finch, Amadina fasciata Red-headed finch, Amadina erythrocephala |
| Amandava Blyth, 1836 | Red avadavat, Amandava amandava also known as red munia Green avadavat, Amandava formosa Orange-breasted waxbill, Amandava subflava |
| Granatina Sharpe, 1890 | Purple grenadier, Granatina ianthinogaster Violet-eared waxbill, Granatina granatina |
| Uraeginthus Cabanis, 1851 | Blue waxbill, Uraeginthus angolensis Red-cheeked cordon-bleu, Uraeginthus bengalus Blue-capped cordon-bleu, Uraeginthus cyanocephalus |
| Spermophaga Swainson, 1837 | Grant's bluebill, Spermophaga poliogenys Western bluebill, Spermophaga haematina Red-headed bluebill, Spermophaga ruficapilla |
| Pyrenestes Swainson, 1837 | Crimson seedcracker, Pyrenestes sanguineus Black-bellied seedcracker, Pyrenestes ostrinus Lesser seedcracker, Pyrenestes minor |
| Pytilia Swainson, 1837 | Orange-winged pytilia, Pytilia afra Red-winged pytilia, Pytilia phoenicoptera Red-billed pytilia, Pytilia lineata Green-winged pytilia, Pytilia melba Yellow-winged pytilia, Pytilia hypogrammica |
| Euschistospiza Wolters, 1943 | Dybowski's twinspot, Euschistospiza dybowskii Dusky twinspot, Euschistospiza cinereovinacea |
| Hypargos Reichenbach, 1862 | Red-throated twinspot, Hypargos niveoguttatus Pink-throated twinspot, Hypargos margaritatus |
| Clytospiza Shelley, 1896 | Brown twinspot, Clytospiza monteiri |
| Lagonosticta Cabanis, 1851 | Bar-breasted firefinch, Lagonosticta rufopicta Brown firefinch, Lagonosticta nitidula Red-billed firefinch, Lagonosticta senegala Black-bellied firefinch, Lagonosticta rara African firefinch, Lagonosticta rubricata Jameson's firefinch, Lagonosticta rhodopareia Mali firefinch, Lagonosticta virata Rock firefinch, Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis Black-faced firefinch, Lagonosticta larvata Chad firefinch, Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis |