Black-lored Waxbill

Found in grassy plains in the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Black-lored Waxbill was lost for 73 years from 1950 until its rediscovery in September 2023.

Black-lored Waxbills are small seedeaters with blunt dark red bills, fine dusky barring on their upperparts and pinkish-washed underparts. They are similar in appearance to the widespread Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild) and are likely closely related to, and perhaps conspecific, with that species (see Taxonomy below). Described by James Chapin in 1928, Black-lored Waxbills were documented on four occasions between 1927 and 1950 before the species disappeared from the scientific record for more than seven decades.

While the waxbill's geographic distribution remains poorly-understood, it appears to be endemic to the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo with records from the upper Lualaba River, the southern edge of Lake Upemba, and most recently from the northern edge of Lake Kabwe (Weber et al., 2024). The waxbill has only been observed on a few brief occasions in the wild, and little is known about its behavior, diet and vocalizations (Birds of the World). 

The Black-lored Waxbill became known to the scientific world when James Chapin was leading the Ruwenzori-Kivu expedition for the American Museum of Natural history in 1927. 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 described a new species in 1928, which he called Estrilda nigriloris or the Black-lored Waxbill.

Chapin believed that new waxbill 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 nearby Kasai and Lomani districts, Chapin felt this was unlikely since the Orange-Cheeked Waxbill already lived in these areas and would put the two species in direct competition with one another. 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. 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). 

Following Chapin's initial observation it would be another twenty years before the Black-lored Waxbill was documented again. During an expedition to Upemba National Park in the DR Congo (1946-1949), R.K Verheyen found two specimens of the species 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 and confirmed Chapin’s theory in that the Black-lored Waxbill’s range overlapped with that of the cavendishi subspecies of the Common 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 singled individuals collected by Dewit in 1949 and 1950 at Zombe 14 km south of Kiabo in the DR Congo (Chapin, 1954). 

The Black-lored Waxbill is currently classified as Data Deficient on the Red List of Threatened Species (BirdLife International 2016). The population has never been systematically quantified, and the distribution appears to be limited to a small area. The species has been recorded in Upemba National Park so at least part of the population likely exists in a protected area.

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

A flock of eight Black-lored Waxbills was observed and photographed by Manuel Weber on 29 September 2023 along the northern shore of Lake Kabwe (Weber et al. 2024). In addition to being the first documented records of the waxbill in 73 years, this observation included the first-ever photographs of the species. Details of the record together with the corresponding photographs are published in the Bulletin of the African Bird Club (Weber et. al., Bull ABC, vol. 32, no. 2 (2024), pp. 213-215).

Prior to the 2023 photographs, Black-lored Waxbills were were known from four documented records: three individuals collected by James Chapin in 1927 (which formed the type series), and single individuals collected in 1948, 1949, and 1950 (Weber et al., 2024).

Grassland and wetland habitats in southeastern DR Congo are threated by habitat loss, urbanization, and eutrophication of the wetland ecosystems (Weber et al., 2024). Meanwhile, logistical and security constraints continue to limit access to the habitats where the Black-lored Waxbills occurs.

The DR Congo has among the richest and diverse ecosystems in the world but much of it remains poorly-studied. The Black-lored Waxbill is one of several lost birds found in DR Congo, along with 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.

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. 

Black-lored Waxbills are closely related to the widespread Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild) and has been suggested to be a subspecies or form of that species due to similarities in morphology. The fact that the species' range appear to overlap with the cavendishi subspecies of Common Waxbill, however, seems to support the conclusion that Black-lored is a distinct species.

Future research using genetic data will likely help to resolve whether Black-lored should be treated as a subspecies or localized form of Common Waxbill.

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).