Black-lored Waxbill

Description 

10-11 cm   

Black spot on the lores that are connected above and below the eye to create a short, black postocular streak bordered by a faint pale pinkish/whitish stripe above the lores and eye  

Buffy-white cheeks and ear-coverts to chin and throat which all are tinged pink  

Pale brown upperparts that are washed pink and display a fine dusky barring  

Brown wings that are barred darker on tertials and coverts  

Graduated, pointed brown tail with darker barring  

Buffy-brown breast, flanks, and sides of belly that all of which have stronger barring and are strongly washed rose pink  

Central belly has a distinct rose-red patch  

Small, blunt beak that is dark red or dull scarlet  

Dark brown iris  

Dusky brown legs and feet (Birds of the World) 

Throat and cheeks are greyish white and washed with pink  

Back and uppertail-coverts are tinged with pink  

Grayer forehead and crown compared to the rest of the body  

Brown back  

Hind-crown, upperparts, wing-coverts, inner secondaries, sides of chest, and flanks are barred with dark brown  

Black belly and undertail-coverts  

Blackish rectrices   

Bill is a dull scarlet (Chapin, 1928) 

Black vent (IUCN Red List) 

The females tend to be duller with the black on the face restricted to lores, a faint black streak behind the eye, rosy wash at the center of the underparts, no pinkish tinge on upperparts, some brownish markings on belly and undertail-coverts, and browner on the rectrices (Chapin, 1928) 

Many believe the Black-Lored Waxbill is conspecific with the Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild), mainly the subspecies cavendishi of this species due to similarities in morphology 

The main characteristics that distinguish the Black-Lored Waxbill from the Common Waxbill are the former’s narrower, shorter, black mask (which is broader, longer, and red in the Common Waxbill), narrow pinkish-white line above lores (completely absent in Common Waxbill), grey cheeks (instead of white), and shorter, stubbier bill (Birds of the World) 

What separates the Black-Lored Waxbill further from her supposed relatives is that her plumage is suffused with pink in contrast to other waxbills in the region  

Habitat 

This species has been found on the banks of the upper Lualaba River, near Lake Upemba, and within the swampy Upemba Plains in Katanga in the southeast Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) (Hall and Moreau, 1962) 

Its range overlaps with that of the cavendishi subspecies of Common Waxbill and the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill (Estrilda melpoda) 

The range of the Common Waxbill extends across Central and Southern Africa with the cavendishi subspecies seen in East Africa, northern Zimbabwe and within the DR Congo at Katanga 

In Katanga, cavendishi can be found lower on the Lualaba River at Kabolo and further southeast in the valleys of the Lufwa, Bunkeya, and Lufira rivers 

The Orange-Cheeked Waxbill’s range extends from Senegal, Upper Guinea to Lake Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, northwest Angola, eastward to Lower Uelle, the central Ituri district, north end of Lake Tanganyika, Lake Moero, and the Kasai region (Chapin, 1954) 

The only known specimens of the Black-Lored Waxbill were collected in grassy plains with tall grasses and bushes  

Other Information 

Movements unknown  

Diet mainly unknown however grass seeds were found in the stomach of one specimen  

Not much is known about this bird’s behavior other than a sighting of a flock of 20-30 birds that foraged in a way similar to Common Waxbills (Birds of the World) 

Vocal behavior is mostly unknown other than an observation of some of the birds emitting a nasal, buzzy sound similar to a Common Waxbill  

Breeding behavior unknown 

Life span- 3.8 years (IUCN Red List) 

The Black-Lored Waxbill has been classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN that made its last assessment in 2016. The population has never been quantified since so little is known about this bird. The Black-Lored Waxbill’s range is assumed to be small around the banks of the Lualaba River and Lake Upemba with an extent of occurrence of 39,200 km.² A population of these birds may be nominally protected within the Upemba National Park. However, incessant armed conflict in the DR Congo and encroachment have been known to disrupt park operations in the country in the past. It is unclear whether this is the case here without further surveys. It is possible that the bird may also be present in the grasslands close to these bodies of water (IUCN Red List). 

To see a distribution map of the Black-Lored Waxbill’s known range, click here. 

There have been only three sight records of this species since it was first described by James Chapin in 1928. These records occurred in 1927, 1948, and 1950. Each sighting occurred within an area of 2,600 km² around the upper Lualaba River and Lake Upemba (Birds of the World). 

The Black-Lored Waxbill became known to the world when James Chapin was leading the Ruwenzori-Kivu expedition for the American Museum of Natural history in 1927 in the DR Congo. In August of that year, he was travelling by steamer up the Lualaba River from Kabalo to Bukama. He would often stop to collect bird specimens on the shore. One day at Kiabo near a post on the west bank of the river opposite to the south end of Lake Upemba, he saw a flock of 20-30 waxbills that looked and behaved similarly to the Common Waxbill but had a black patch instead of a red stripe on the eye. They foraged in a grassy, swampy plain among high grass and bushes. He was able to collected three specimens (two males and a female). It was from these specimens that Chapin came into contact with a new species, a species he called Estrilda nigriloris or the Black-Lored Waxbill which he officially described in 1928. Chapin believed that this species was restricted to a swampy region around Lake Kisale, Upemba, and other bodies of water along the Lualaba River. While it is possible the bird might exist in savannah environments in the Kasai and Lomani districts of the DR Congo, he saw this as unlikely since the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill already lived in these areas and would put the two species in direct competition with one another. Curiously, where Chapin found the flock of Black-Lored Waxbills is thought to be within the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill’s range. He also noted the presence of the Common Waxbill (especially the subspecies cavendishi) near the localities where he found the flock of Black-Lored Waxbills in the southeast DR Congo. He even commented that he saw these two species coexisting in the Ruzizi Valley and Boma within the same marsh and the same flock (Chapin, 1928). 

During an expedition to Upemba National Park in the DR Congo (1946-1949), R.K Verheyen found two specimens of the Black-Lored Waxbill in 1948 at Mabwe. Similar to Chapin, he also noted that this bird was similar to the subspecies cavendishi of the Common Waxbill except for the slightly deeper streaks, the rosy wash on the underparts, and the black eye stripe. Verheyen confirmed Chapin’s theory in that the Black-Lored Waxbill’s range overlapped with that of the cavendishi subspecies of the Common Waxbill and the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill. Verheyen collected specimens of cavendishi at Masombwe just outside of the park and specimens of the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill at Mabwe where the specimen of the Black-Lored Waxbill was found as well as in other sites such as Kaswabilenga and Kilwezi. He concurred with Chapin in that the Black-Lored Waxbill was confined to the Lualaba river valley with cavendishi occupying the areas surrounding it (Verheyen, 1953). 

The only other known specimens of this species were two that were collected in 1950 at Zombe 14 km south of Kiabo in the DR Congo (Chapin, 1954). 

The observations regarding the only known specimens of the Black-Lored Waxbill begs certain questions. Does this range overlap of the Black-Lored Waxbill, the cavendishi subspecies of the Common Waxbill, and the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill imply that the first is conspecific or a hybrid of the latter two? If so, how do you explain the black eye stripe that is uncharacteristic of any known waxbill species. Could it be that the Black-Lored Waxbill is a distinct species that is a specialist only in that area of the Lualaba River valley? If this is the case, the implications of habitat loss in her narrow range could be more serious than we realize. We may never know for sure until more birds of this species are found or DNA analysis is done on the known specimens to confirm the bird’s distinct species status. 

The greatest challenge the Black-Lored Waxbill must face is the habitat loss caused by the indirect and direct impacts continuous armed conflict has had on diverse ecosystems in the DR Congo. During a wartime situation, there are several ways an armed conflict can negatively affect wildlife. Animals can be accidentally killed by mines or shells. They can be hunted and overexploited to feed troops. If they are an endangered species, they can even be used by hostages or pawns to hamper government troops or gain international support. War can affect park institutions in a reserve where endangered and vulnerable species are protected. Rebels can occupy an area and chase park officials away. With park institutions absent, this not only opens the door for rebels and poachers but also refugees from neighboring regions affected by the conflict to come in and overexploit park resources and destroy natural environments (Gaynor et al., 2016). All of these factors either have happened or continue to happen on some level in the DR Congo ever since the country ceased to be a Belgian colony in the 1960s. The armed conflict that has ravaged the country does not show signs of ending anytime soon. While large mammals tend to be the center of attention for economic reasons such as poaching, birds can be the target of poaching and habitat loss as war forces many in the country to overexploit resources to survive. 

The DR Congo has among the richest and diverse ecosystems in the world. Ironically, these areas are also among the most poorly studied and ravaged by habitat loss as a result of the incessant warfare that has plagued the country since independence. The Black-Lored Waxbill is one of 13 rare species that are either only known from the DR Congo or are mainly known from this region. Other than the Black-Lored Waxbill, the list includes the Itombwe Nightjar, Itombwe Owl, Chestnut Owlet, Grauer’s Cuckooshrike, Lendu Crombec, Kabobo Apalis, Prigogine’s Greenbul, Sassi’s Greenbul, Chapin’s Mountain Babbler, Prigogine’s Sunbird, Upemba Masked Weaver, and Yellow-Legged Weaver. It appears that more and more of their habitat is destroyed by agriculture and overexploitation and more and more of their members are captured or killed due to poaching and hunting with every passing year. If the armed conflict in the DR Congo does not cease, it is unsure how much longer these rare species can continue to cope with the direct and indirect impacts war has had on their survival. 

Survey the grasslands and banks of the Lualaba River and Lake Upemba to see if any populations of Black-Lored Waxbills are still in those areas and if these areas have been negatively impacted by habitat loss. 

Conduct a DNA analysis of the known specimens of the Black-Lored Waxbill to confirm that this bird is indeed a distinct species and not conspecific with the Common Waxbill or another species from this family. 

Order: Passeriformes 

Family: Estrilidae 

Genus: Estrilda 

Species: Estrilda nigriloris