Black-headed Waxbill
Estrilda atricapilla J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, Black-headed waxbill; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:43:04.987444+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Estrilda atricapilla J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851
- Name authority
- J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851
- Common name
- Black-headed 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 atricapilla J. Verreaux & E. Verreaux, 1851
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Common WaxbillEstrilda astrild (Linnaeus, 1758) | 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 |
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=559980 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3BKGP. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.