Waxbills (Estrildidae)

Red-headed Finch (Amadina erythrocephala) - HBW 15, p. 301

French: Amadine à tête rouge German: Rotkopfamadine Spanish: Estrilda Cabecirroja
Other common names: Paradise Sparrow

Taxonomy: Loxia eryocephala [sic] Linnaeus, 1758, Africa = Angola.
Genus has been considered closer to Lonchura than to estrildine genera, as it has a thick bill; both behaviour and the molecular phylogeny, however, support a relationship with estrildine waxbills, rather than with lonchurine munias. This species is sometimes thought to form a superspecies with A. fasciata. Slightly darker birds from Bergville (W KwaZulu-Natal), in NE South Africa, described as race dissita, but appear inadequately differentiated from birds in rest of species' range to warrant recognition. Monotypic.

Distribution: SW Angola (S from SW Bengo), Namibia, Botswana, S Zimbabwe, South Africa and lowland Lesotho.