CreatureData

Black-headed waxbill

Estrilda atricapilla J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla) is a species in the family Estrildidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 7.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla)
Photo: Tom Tarrant · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the black-headed waxbill

Weight
7.8 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2 – 3.25src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the black-headed waxbill

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla)
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the black-headed waxbill live?

Not recorded

What is the black-headed waxbill?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla) is a common species of estrildid finch found in central Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 620,000 km².

It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. The IUCN has classified the species as being of least concern.

The eastern subspecies E. a. kandti is sometimes treated as a separate species, Kandt's waxbill.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-headed waxbill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-headed_waxbill&oldid=1380740022), 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-headed waxbill endangered?

The black-headed waxbill 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. What the categories mean.

How is the black-headed waxbill classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyEstrildidae
  6. genusEstrilda
  7. SpeciesEstrilda atricapilla J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851

Synonyms Estrelda atricapilla

Other names and names in other languages (31)
  • BHWAEnglish
  • شمعي المنقار أسود الرأسArabic
  • estrilda de casquetCatalan
  • astrild černohlavýCzech
  • cwyrbig pendduWelsh
  • Sortkappet AstrildDanish
  • KappenastrildGerman
  • nigrakapa estrildoEsperanto
  • Estrilda capirotadaSpanish
  • husaaramadiinEstonian
  • metsävahanokkaFinnish
  • Astrild à tête noireFrench
  • Céirghob ceanndubhIrish
  • crnoglava estrildaCroatian
  • feketesapkás asztrildHungarian
  • Estrilda testaneraItalian
  • ズグロカエデチョウJapanese
  • juodagalvė astrildaLithuanian
  • ZwartkapastrildDutch
  • svarthetteastrildNorwegian
  • astryld czarnogłowyPolish
  • bico-de-lacre-de-cabeça-pretaPortuguese
  • Черношапочный астрильдRussian
  • astrilda čiernohlaváSlovak
  • Kapasta astrildaSerbian
  • svarthätteastrildSwedish
  • svarthättad astrildSwedish
  • Kara Başlıklı MumgagaTurkish
  • астрильд чорноголовийUkrainian
  • 黑头梅花雀Chinese
  • 黑頭梅花雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-headed waxbill

Other species in the same genus Estrilda.

CompareBlack-headed waxbill vs Common waxbillBlack-headed waxbill vs Black-rumped waxbillBlack-headed waxbill vs Orange-cheeked waxbillBlack-headed waxbill vs Crimson-rumped waxbill

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black-headed waxbill?

An adult black-headed waxbill weighs 7.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black-headed waxbill endangered?

The black-headed waxbill 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-headed waxbill?

The black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla) 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.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-waxbill

MLA

“Black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-waxbill.

BibTeX
@misc{black_headed_waxbill_2026,
  title = {Black-headed waxbill (Estrilda atricapilla)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-waxbill},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}