NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common Waxbill
Estrilda astrild (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Common waxbill (Estrilda astrild jagoensis), São Tomé island, São Tomé and Príncipe
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The common waxbill (Estrilda astrild), also known as the St Helena waxbill, is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa but has been introduced to many other regions of the world and now has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km2. It is popular and easy to keep in captivity.
Wikipedia contributors, Common waxbill; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:57:06.652178+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Estrilda astrild (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Common Waxbill
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Estrilda
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEstrildidae Bonaparte, 1850
- genusEstrilda Swainson, 1827
- speciesEstrilda astrild (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Estrilda. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-headed WaxbillEstrilda atricapilla J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-faced WaxbillEstrilda erythronotos (Vieillot, 1817) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Estrilda kandti Reichenow, 1902 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-cheeked WaxbillEstrilda melpoda (Vieillot, 1817) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Abyssinian WaxbillEstrilda ochrogaster Salvadori, 1897 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cinderella WaxbillEstrilda thomensis Sousa, 1888 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-rumped WaxbillEstrilda troglodytes (Lichtenstein, 1823) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Lavender WaxbillEstrilda caerulescens (Vieillot, 1817) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-cheeked WaxbillEstrilda charmosyna (Reichenow, 1881) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-lored WaxbillEstrilda nigriloris Chapin, 1928 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-crowned WaxbillEstrilda nonnula Hartlaub, 1883 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Fawn-breasted WaxbillEstrilda paludicola Heuglin, 1863 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179610 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BKGN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.