Estrilda melba Pytilia melba

A vividly colored waxbill with a red bill, rump, and tail and an olive-green back and wings. The male’s forehead and throat are orange-red, and it sports a bright breast band which varies in color geographically. The female lacks the breast band and has a gray head. Pairs and small flocks are resident in arid thorn savanna, dry woodland, and cultivation, where they feed on the ground for seeds and insects and fly into trees when disturbed. The species may join mixed-species flocks. The similar Orange-winged Pytilia differs from the larger Green-winged Pytilia by having diagnostic golden-yellow edges to the wing feathers.