CreatureData

Rock firefinch

Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis Payne, 1998

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis) is a species in the family Estrildidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 11.4 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis)
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the rock firefinch

Weight
11.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
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 rock firefinch live?

Not recorded

What is the rock firefinch?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis) is a species of estrildid finch found in the Jos Plateau of central Nigeria and in Cameroon. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 29,000 km2 (11,000 sq mi). The rock firefinch was discovered recently, in 1998. Rock firefinches fall in the family Estrildidae, which contains small passerine birds of the Old World and Australasia. Rock firefinches seem to be most closely related to Mali firefinches and Chad firefinches. The species name sanguinodorsalis means blood-red back, which was chosen because it describes the vibrant red back color of the male plumage. The status of the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

From the Wikipedia article “Rock firefinch” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rock_firefinch&oldid=1314821843), 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 rock firefinch endangered?

The rock 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 rock firefinch classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyEstrildidae
  6. genusLagonosticta
  7. SpeciesLagonosticta sanguinodorsalis Payne, 1998
Other names and names in other languages (30)
  • Rock firefinch.English
  • ROFIEnglish
  • amarant rudohřbetýCzech
  • Jos AmarantDanish
  • FelsenamarantGerman
  • roka fajrestrildoEsperanto
  • Amaranta roqueraSpanish
  • rünka-leekamadiinEstonian
  • nigerianruusupeippoFinnish
  • Amarante des rochersFrench
  • ružičasta estrildaCroatian
  • sziklaamarantHungarian
  • Amaranto di rocciaItalian
  • イワコウギョクチョウJapanese
  • uolinis amarantasLithuanian
  • SteinmarantNorwegian Bokmål
  • RotsamarantDutch
  • steinamarantNorwegian
  • amarantka czerwonogrzbietaPolish
  • amarante-das-rochasPortuguese
  • granadeiro-das-rochasPortuguese
  • peito-de-fogo-das-rochasPortuguese
  • Скальный амарантRussian
  • Скалистый амарантRussian
  • amarant červenochrbtýSlovak
  • Kamenjarska amarantaSerbian
  • klippamarantSwedish
  • Kaya AteşispinozuTurkish
  • амарант червоноспиннийUkrainian
  • 岩火雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the rock firefinch

Other species in the same genus Lagonosticta.

CompareRock firefinch vs Red-billed firefinchRock firefinch vs African firefinchRock firefinch vs Brown firefinchRock firefinch vs Black-faced firefinch

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the rock firefinch?

An adult rock firefinch weighs 11.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the rock firefinch endangered?

The rock 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 rock firefinch?

The rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis) 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). Rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-firefinch

MLA

“Rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-firefinch.

BibTeX
@misc{rock_firefinch_2026,
  title = {Rock firefinch (Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/rock-firefinch},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}