Nina Foster / 3 Mar 2025 / Black-lored Waxbill
On the morning of September 29, 2023, Manuel Weber was in the midst of a 14-day expedition through Upemba National Park in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He surveyed his surroundings from a boat on Lake Kabwe, hoping to spot a bird lost to science for more than seven decades.
The species of interest didn’t make an appearance. Running behind schedule, Weber’s team moved on. But as they departed, he noticed a flock of eight small seedeaters on the lake’s northern shore. The birds had blunt red bills, pale brown upperparts washed pink, dusky barring, and a black patch around the eyes. They were Black-lored Waxbills (Estrilda nigriloris) — the lost species that he had been waiting for.
Weber, an intern at the time, urged his team to turn the boat around. He was accompanied by the park’s head of biomonitoring, Ruffin Mpanga, and Mpanga’s assistant, Esther Changwa, along with two field rangers tasked with security. Working against time and fuel constraints, they reluctantly agreed.
“It was a stressful situation,” recalls Weber, who now works for Upemba as a full-time biomonitoring advisor. “No one really understood that those were more special than all the other birds we had seen!”
Weber had just a few minutes to observe and photograph the Black-lored Waxbills as they moved through the wetland’s vegetation. His team published the details of their encounter in the most recent issue of the Bulletin of the African Bird Club, which came out in December 2024. This observation is the first documented record of the species since 1950, and Weber’s photographs are the first ever taken in the wild.
Returning to the Scientific Record
Almost a century before Weber’s sighting, James Chapin collected the first Black-lored Waxbill specimens in 1927. While leading an expedition for the American Museum of Natural History, he found a flock of 20-30 waxbills foraging near the Lualaba River at Kiabo. Although the birds looked and behaved much like the widespread Common Waxbill (Estrilda astrild), Chapin described them as a new, distinct species in 1928. The Black-lored Waxbill’s most distinguishing features include a black patch instead of a red stripe over the eye; a narrow, pinkish-white line above the lores, which is completely absent in the Common Waxbill; gray cheeks instead of white; and a shorter, stubbier bill.
The species would be documented on three more occasions before disappearing from the scientific record for 73 years. Individual specimens were collected in 1948, 1949, and 1950 from the upper Lualaba River and the southern edge of Lake Upemba, the park’s namesake.
With limited data and historical records, the Black-lored Waxbill is classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The waxbill appears to be endemic to the southeastern DRC, but researchers lack the necessary information to establish its range, population size, and population trends. Furthermore, while the bird is considered a distinct species by most authorities, its similarities with the Common Waxbill continue to spark taxonomic disputes.
The 2023 rediscovery marks a crucial step toward resolving these uncertainties. Weber’s observation will hopefully inspire further study of the no-longer-lost bird. Genetic analyses, for instance, could confirm whether the waxbill is indeed a distinct species. Targeted surveys would shed light on the bird’s distribution, habitat requirements, and population status. The more we know about the Black-lored Waxbill, the better we can safeguard the species and its habitat.
“Few bird species are as little-known as Black-lored Waxbill, one of only 38 bird species listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List,” says Alex Berryman, Red List officer at BirdLife International. “This remarkable rediscovery lays the groundwork for further study on its population and biology, which is badly needed to adequately estimate its extinction risk and instigate any necessary conservation action.”
Upemba’s Road to Recovery
Conservation efforts are essential in the DRC, which has some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Unfortunately, much of this biodiversity is at risk, even in protected areas.
Upemba National Park is one of the oldest national parks in the DRC, spanning more than 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres). The park once teemed with wildlife, home to an abundance of elephants, lions, zebras, and other animals. But in the late 20th century, rebel militias and armed groups took refuge in Upemba’s wilderness. Their occupation jeopardized the safety of park rangers and sparked a devastating poaching spree.
“Most of the park’s large animals have been slaughtered,” Weber explains. “Poaching continues, endangering the endemic Upemba lechwe, a few buffalo, the only zebras of the DRC, and the only pure savanna elephants of the country.”
On top of poaching and illegal settlements, Upemba is vulnerable to illegal mining activities in pursuit of oil and mineral resources. The Lufira River, which Weber calls the park’s “biodiversity artery,” is threatened by an upcoming dam construction project. Upemba’s “Zone Annexe,” where the waxbill was rediscovered, faces intensive fishing, urbanization, and eutrophication.
Upemba staff are dedicated to restoring the park to its former glory, but it’s no easy task. Safety concerns, coupled with limited roads and communication systems in the park, make it difficult to carry out research and conservation activities.
Still, expeditions like Weber’s are worth it. His team returned from their journey having rediscovered a bird that vanished from the scientific record more than seven decades prior.
“The DRC has more lost birds than almost any other region on earth. Given the mounting anthropogenic pressures in the region, it's more important than ever to find and document these species,” says John Mittermeier, director of the Search for Lost Birds at American Bird Conservancy. “It's especially exciting that the Black-lored Waxbill was rediscovered by Upemba National Park staff, because they are well situated to protect it.”
Nina Foster is a science communication specialist with interests in ornithology, forest ecology, and sustainable agriculture. She holds a BA in English literature with a minor in integrative biology from Harvard University and is currently the Post-baccalaureate Fellow in Plant Humanities at Dumbarton Oaks.