The African silverbill is a passerine bird of the order Passeriformes and family Estrildidae. Their wings and tail are dark brown and they have a cream belly. Their upper parts are finely vermiculated and their underparts are white. To differentiate between their sexes is very difficult as both sexes look very much identical and can only be differentiated at four months. During their courtship displays, the males sing and bounce, holding grass in their little bill. They have a similar-looking Indian silverbill species and a finch species too. They have four subspecies found in western and central Africa. African silverbills were first described by Johann Friedrich, a German naturalist. Silverbills are different from finches because their feathers are replaced when they wear out and they begin to have a heavy molt from the age of six to seven months. These birds are herbivores and can be seen eating grasses and seeds both from the ground and the tree.Have an interest in birds and want to know about more of them? Here you can know some amazing facts about the house wren and canyon wren.
Fun African Silverbill Facts For Kids
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
African Silverbill Interesting FactsWhat type of animal is an African silverbill?The African silverbill is a type of bird with a small brown body. They are also called warbling silverbills. They look similar to a finch and an Indian silverbill.What class of animal does an African silverbill belong to?This species belongs to the Aves class, the family Estrildidae, and the genus Euodice. Their scientific name is Euodice cantans. Their head is light brown and the wings and tail are dark brown.How many African silverbills are there in the world?These birds are quite in abundance in Africa and they also can be seen in some other parts of the world too. Though their exact range of population is not currently known, their population trend is stable.Where does an African silverbill live?These silverbill birds are birds of the dry region. They prefer to live in arid regions of countries like Chad, Niger, east Mauritania, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, south Mali, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Arabian Peninsula, Qatar, and Uganda. These are the common countries of their origin.What is an African silverbill’s habitat?These little birds have a natural habitat or site around arid regions, savanna country, thorny bushland, grasslands of the acacia tree, dry grasslands, cultivated land, fields, woodlands, steppes, and dry grasslands for nesting or housing. They can be found up to an altitude range of 6600 ft (2000 m). They like to settle around water bodies. They have also been introduced to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the other subspecies that can be seen around the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.Who does the African silverbill live with?This species is extremely social and active. They like to be in flocks, sometimes with a large number of birds. They prefer to be live flocks throughout the year, breeding in loose colonies and are often found perching together. They may be a little anti-social behavior during the breeding season but are very sociable after the breeding season. They even get along with gray-headed silverbills.How long does an African silverbill live?The exact lifespan of the African silverbill is not known but like other small birds of class Aves, their lifespan has a range of one to three years.How do they reproduce?This species starts breeding after eight to nine months of age. They are monogamous and mate for life. The parents do everything together like nesting and feeding. They build their nest in a round-shaped for the eggs. They line their nest with soft fibers and place them in thick bushes. The males collect the materials from different places and the female helps in construction. The female lays a clutch of three to six eggs and both parents share the incubation period. The female incubates during the day and the male bird incubates when the female leaves the nest. The average incubation period is between 10-12 days. The new borns or young ones are dark in color with a yellow gape and it takes one month before becoming independent after they fledge.What is their conservation status?According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this African silverbill lonchura of genus Euodice is falls in the category of Least Concern species.African Silverbill Fun FactsWhat does the African silverbill look like?The African silverbill is a small bird with a yellow-brown head and its description is very interesting. They have a long tail with an upper region black in color and the rest is brown. The wings are also black-brown but the belly and rump are black. They have finely vermiculated upper parts and their underparts are white. The male looks different as they have a different body length range. The central feathers of the male are narrower and pointed and they have a longer body. If you like more colorful birds, you should check out the strawberry finch.How cute are they?Their brown feather skin and tiny appearance make this bird one of the cutest birds you will see in the wild. The related finch species bird, the Gouldian finch is a magnificent and attractive bird.How do they communicate?Little is known about how they communicate with one another. They sing a special trilling song and also have a ‘chink’ call which they use when they fly or feed in a flock. Though their song is not audible to human ears, the birds can easily hear it. Their singing is very similar to finches and people often confuse them with finches. The male call is like a metallic ’tink.‘How big is an African silverbill?African silverbills are a very small bird that is about 3.9 in (10 cm) in length. In length, they are almost the same length as that of a finch called red finch.How fast can an African silverbill fly?The speed of their flight is not clearly mentioned but being a small silverbill species, their flight speed is not much.How much does an African silverbill weigh?The weight of this African silverbill lonchura is 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g). The closely related finch species, the chaffinch, weighs twice as much as this species.What are the male and female names of the species?There are no specific names for adult male and female African silverbills.What would you call a baby African silverbill?An African silverbill baby or young one is called a chick, like other birds of the family Estrildidae.What do they eat?Silverbills are herbivores and prefer to eat millet, fruits, malabarica, wheat, seed, panicum, canary seeds, and sprouts. Their diet also includes leafy vegetables like kale, Choy, bok, endive, and silverbeet. They forage for their food mostly on the ground. Their chicks also feed on just seeds. They primarily like to have seeds in their diet, but due to the nutritional value of grasses and leafy malabarica, they search for more of this.Are they dangerous?This species of African silverbills is not at all dangerous for human beings. Like their relative species of finches, they posses no danger to people.Would they make a good pet?This finch-related species can become good pets and there are also many instances where people have pet them. The adult silverbill needs the same cages as finches with no articles of disturbance as these articles will disturb their natural behavior of being in free space.Did you know…These light color head birds are nest birds, but they like to climb over branches, enjoying dust, and flying here and there. Just like the finch, they are active and do not need to be in a nest all the time.Are there any African silverbills mutations?The Indian silverbill looks very identical to the African silverbill. These two species are very similar except for the white rump instead of darker black like that of African silverbills. African silverbill mutation is dark-bellied, fawn, red-brown, and chocolate. The Indian silverbill also has some mutation colors like cinnamon, pastel, fawn, and opal.Why is it called the African silverbill?These silverbills are called silverbills because their small little bill is metallic silver in color.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out the Flamingo facts and the secretary bird facts pages.You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable African Silverbill color pages.
What type of animal is an African silverbill?
The African silverbill is a type of bird with a small brown body. They are also called warbling silverbills. They look similar to a finch and an Indian silverbill.
Fun African Silverbill Facts For Kids
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
Fun African Silverbill Facts For Kids
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
Fun African Silverbill Facts For Kids
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
Fun African Silverbill Facts For Kids
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
What do they prey on? Grass and seeds
What do they eat? Herbivore
Average litter size? 3-6
How much do they weigh? 0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they? 3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they? N/A
What do they look like? Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type Feather
What were their main threats? Humans
What is their conservation status? Least Concern
What do they prey on?
Grass and seeds
What do they eat?
Herbivore
Average litter size?
3-6
How much do they weigh?
0.3-0.37 lb (9.5-10.5 g)
How long are they?
3.9 in (10 cm)
How tall are they?
N/A
What do they look like?
Silver blue and light brown
Skin Type
Feather
What were their main threats?
Humans
What is their conservation status?
Least Concern
Where you’ll find them? Savanna
Locations East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
Where you’ll find them?
Savanna
Locations
East Africa
Kingdom Animalia
Genus Euodice
Kingdom
Animalia
Genus
Euodice
Class Aves
Family Estrildidae
