About Uraeginthus angolensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The blue waxbill (Uraeginthus angolensis) has powder-blue coloring on the face, breast, rump, and flanks, with pale brown upperparts. Females are paler than males; their blue coloring is limited to the rump, tail, head, and upper breast, and the rest of their underparts are buffy brown. The species measures 12–13 cm in total length. Its call is a soft 'seee-seee', which is often repeated as the bird moves through the lower sections of bushes and scrub. Blue waxbills are found across southern Africa, ranging from Cabinda and the Congo east to Kenya and Tanzania, and south as far as northern South Africa. They may have been introduced to the islands of São Tomé and Zanzibar. This species lives in a range of different habitats, but generally prefers well-watered or semi-arid savanna, especially areas where umbrella thorn trees (Vachellia tortilis) grow. They also occupy natural vegetation in cultivated areas, mopane woodland (Colosphermum mopane), and forest edges. Blue waxbills feed mainly on grass seeds, which they collect from grass inflorescences. Their diet is supplemented with termites and other insects, and they have also been recorded feeding on fallen fruits of Boscia albitrunca. They are most often seen in pairs or small family groups, but will gather into larger flocks that often mix with flocks of other estrildid finch species.
