Blue waxbill

The blue waxbill or in Afrikaans blousysie and scientifically Uraeginthus angolensis, is found in all parts of South Africa north of the Vaal River.

Feathers on big parts of the body, male or female, are not blue, but names rightly tend to feature the eye-catching colour, noticed first.

Perched among thorns that here look like sickle-bush, these birds move either in breeding pairs or flocks of over 40. They prefer thornveld among grass and shrubs. They eat both seeds and insects, the insects often caught in flight.

The male courts his prospective mate by hopping about while singing and holding a piece of straw in its bill. This might suggest that she should invest in a nest builder, or that the prospective nest builder wants to invest in her.

Blue waxbill females may prefer husbands that multitask. Or maybe it’s all in the song and dance act (Maclean, 1993).