CreatureData

Black-faced firefinch

Lagonosticta larvata (Rüppell, 1840)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata) is a species in the family Estrildidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 9.25 g to 10.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata)
Photo: Peter Wilton · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-faced firefinch

Weight
9.25 g – 10.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the black-faced firefinch live?

Not recorded

What is the black-faced firefinch?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 2,100,000 km2.

It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Uganda. The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Lagonosticta vinacea was a separate species, but findings by Dowsett and Forbes-Watson in 1993 led to reassigning of the L. vinacea species as a population under L. larvata.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-faced firefinch” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-faced_firefinch&oldid=1380702947), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black-faced firefinch endangered?

The black-faced firefinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the black-faced firefinch classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyEstrildidae
  6. genusLagonosticta
  7. SpeciesLagonosticta larvata (Rüppell, 1840)

Synonyms Amadina larvata, Estrilda larvata, Lagonosticta nigricollis nigricollis, Lagonosticta vinacea vinacea

Other names and names in other languages (37)
  • BFFIEnglish
  • Black-throated firefinchEnglish
  • Black-throated firefinchEnglish
  • Ethiopian firefinchEnglish
  • amaranta caranegraCatalan
  • llinos dân wynebddu’r DwyrainWelsh
  • MaskeamarantDanish
  • LarvenastrildGerman
  • SchwarzkehlamarantGerman
  • Schwarzkehliger AmarantGerman
  • Weinroter AmarantGerman
  • Weinroter AstrildGerman
  • nigramaska fajrestrildoEsperanto
  • Amaranta etíopeSpanish
  • Amaranta CarinegraSpanish
  • mustpõsk-leekamadiinEstonian
  • naamioruusupeippoFinnish
  • Amarante masquéFrench
  • Amaranthe masquéFrench
  • crnolica estrildaCroatian
  • álarcos amarantHungarian
  • Amaranto faccianeraItalian
  • クロガオコウギョクチョウJapanese
  • juodaveidis amarantasLithuanian
  • LarvenamarantDutch
  • amarantka czarnolicaPolish
  • amarante-de-cara-pretaPortuguese
  • granadeiro-de-faces-pretasPortuguese
  • peito-de-fogo-de-cara-pretaPortuguese
  • Масковый амарантRussian
  • amarant škraboškovýSlovak
  • Larvata amarantaSerbian
  • maskamarantSwedish
  • Kara Yüzlü AteşispinozuTurkish
  • амарант масковийUkrainian
  • 黑脸火雀Chinese
  • 黑臉火雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-faced firefinch

Other species in the same genus Lagonosticta.

LC, Least Concern
Rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis)

Rock firefinch

Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis

Estrildidae

CompareBlack-faced firefinch vs Red-billed firefinchBlack-faced firefinch vs African firefinchBlack-faced firefinch vs Brown firefinchBlack-faced firefinch vs Rock firefinch

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black-faced firefinch?

An adult black-faced firefinch weighs 9.25 g – 10.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black-faced firefinch endangered?

The black-faced firefinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the black-faced firefinch?

The black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata) belongs to the family Estrildidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-faced-firefinch

MLA

“Black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-faced-firefinch.

BibTeX
@misc{black_faced_firefinch_2026,
  title = {Black-faced firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-faced-firefinch},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}