The orange-breasted waxbill, also known as the zebra waxbill, is a small sparrow-like bird with a reddish iris, orange breast, red bill and dark olive-green plumage. The male has a red rump, dark bars on the whitish flank and a scarlet eyebrow stripe. The female is duller and smaller than male; it also lacks the male's red eyebrow.
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Typical Environment
Occurs widely in moist to mesic grasslands, marsh and reed margins, floodplains, and lightly wooded savanna with abundant seeding grasses. Frequently uses agricultural edges, fallow fields, and sugarcane or millet stands where cover is available. Prefers areas close to water and avoids dense forest and true desert. Often remains concealed in rank grass, moving in small parties and family groups.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 3/5
Also called the zebra waxbill, this tiny estrildid finch favors tall, seeding grasses near water across much of sub‑Saharan Africa. Males show a scarlet supercilium and rump and often display by fluffing the orange breast and quivering the tail. They build ball-shaped grass nests low in dense vegetation. Though kept by aviculturists, they are sensitive to cold and require quiet, well-vegetated spaces.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, bounding flights
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs or small flocks that skulk through tall grass, emerging to feed on seeding heads. Pairs are monogamous in the breeding season and nest low in dense grass or reeds in a ball-shaped structure. They often roost communally and keep in contact with thin calls while foraging.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, tinkling series of high notes and delicate trills, often delivered from within cover. Contact calls are thin, sibilant tsip or tzee notes given frequently as birds move through grass.
Plumage
Fine, smooth plumage with olive-green upperparts, orange breast blending to buff belly, and barred whitish flanks. Male shows a scarlet eyebrow and rump with darker tail; female is duller and lacks the red eyebrow. Both sexes have a neat, compact finch shape with short tail and delicate, zebra-like flank barring.
Diet
Takes tiny grass seeds, including Setaria and Panicum, plucked directly from seed heads or gleaned from the ground. Supplements diet with small insects and other invertebrates—such as termites, aphids, and small beetles—especially during breeding. Will also consume green seed and occasional soft plant matter when abundant.
Preferred Environment
Feeds low in rank grass, at marsh and reed margins, along ditches and floodplains, and in lightly disturbed farmland with seeding weeds. Often forages under cover, clambering up stems to reach seed heads, and drops to bare patches to pick fallen seeds.
