Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "finch" being included in the common names of some species, they are not closely related to birds with this name in other families, such as the Fringillidae, Emberizidae or Passerellidae.
The bronze mannikin or bronze munia is a small passerine bird of the Afrotropics. This very social estrildid finch is an uncommon to locally abundant bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, where it is resident, nomadic or irruptive in mesic savanna or forest margin habitats. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 8,100,000 km2. It is the smallest and most widespread of four munia species on the African mainland, the other being black-and-white, red-backed and magpie mannikin. It co-occurs with the Madagascar mannikin on the Comoro Islands, and was introduced to Puerto Rico. Especially in the West Africa, it is considered a pest in grain and rice fields. It is locally trapped for the pet bird trade.
The Indian silverbill or white-throated munia is a small passerine bird found in the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining regions that was formerly considered to include the closely related African silverbill. This estrildid finch is a common resident breeding bird in the drier regions of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. It has also been introduced into many other parts of the world and has become established in some areas. They forage in small flocks in grassland and scrub habitats.
Lonchura is a genus of the estrildid finch family, and includes munias and mannikins. They are seed-eating birds that are found in South Asia from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka east to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. The name mannikin is from Middle Dutch mannekijn 'little man', and also the source of the common name of the family Pipridae, manakin.
The double-barred finch is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Bicheno's finch or as the owl finch, the latter of which owing to the dark ring of feathers around the face. It is the only species placed in the genus Stizoptera .
The red avadavat, red munia or strawberry finch, is a sparrow-sized bird of the family Estrildidae. It is found in the open fields and grasslands of tropical Asia and is popular as a cage bird due to the colourful plumage of the males in their breeding season. It breeds in the Indian Subcontinent in the monsoon season. The species name of amandava and the common name of avadavat are derived from the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, from where these birds were exported into the pet trade in former times.
The common waxbill, 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.
The plum-headed finch also known as cherry finch is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia. It is the only species placed in the genus Aidemosyne. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 100,000 – 1,000,000 km2.
Nesocharis is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. They are found in Africa.
The grey-headed silverbill, also known as pearl-headed mannikin, is a species of estrildid finch found in eastern Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 400,000 km2. It was formerly usually placed in the monotypic genus Odontospiza as Odontospiza caniceps and sometimes placed in the genus Lonchura.
The dusky munia is a species of estrildid finch which is endemic to Borneo. It is also commonly referred to as the Dusky mannikin and the Bornean munia. It is in the family of perching birds (Passeriformes) and is in the genus Lonchura. It is a monotypic species, and there are no subspecies in the genus.
The tricoloured munia is an estrildid finch, native to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and southern China. The species has also been introduced to the Caribbean, in Trinidad, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Venezuela. This species, like the chestnut munia has been known as the black-headed munia. Immature birds have pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head found in adults, and have uniform buff underparts that can be confused with immatures of other munias such as the scaly-breasted munia.
The firefinches form a genus, Lagonosticta, of small seed-eating African birds in the family Estrildidae.
Pytilia is a genus of small brightly coloured seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. They are distributed across Africa.
Hypargos is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae that are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Euodice is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. These species are from the dry zones of Africa and India and are commonly referred to as silverbills. They were formerly included in the genus Lonchura.
Amandava is a genus of the estrildid finches. These birds are found in dense grass or scrub in Africa and South Asia. They are gregarious seed-eaters with short, red bills. In earlier literature, amadavat and amidavad have been used. The name amandava, along with amadavat and amidavad are all corruptions of Ahmedabad, a city in Gujarat, India from where the first few specimens of the red munia Amandava amandava were obtained.
Coccopygia, is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. They are distributed across central and southern Africa.
Brunhilda is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the waxbill family Estrildidae. The species are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mayrimunia is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae that are endemic to New Guinea.
