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This is one of my favourite birds. I don’t think there is any other animal that has this specific baby-blue colour.

I love them as well ... They look so cheery yet gloomy ..

And always at camps and picnic spots

Along Letaba River - Sept 2006

This is my number-one favourite bird, I never tire of seeing them. And you are usually lucky enough to see fire finches and the odd melba finch at the same time as they tend to mingle. I've also seen the violet-eared waxbill in their company. Yet I've never been able to take a particularly good photo of one, certainly not one good enough to enlarge and frame - aiming to try again on our next visit in September 2007 with the new digital SLR camera that we are saving up for!

Can agree with you Jumbo, very nice bird, awsome colour.
This one was taken in Bateleur near the cottage.

Saw these little beauties quite often on our recent trip. At one point they came to drink @ our tap in LS camping spot.

Seen at Skukuza reception:

The Blue Waxbill, Uraeginthus angolensisis, is one of South Africa's most striking finches, with males darker than females. They are restricted to the drier eastern and northerly regions of the country. Although it is a ground-feeding seed-eater it will take insects when the opportunity arises. They often feed in mixed groups in open tracts in thornveld.


Large view

Blue waxbills build their nests of fine grass stems like the bit this male is carrying. The nest is a ball-like structure with a spout-like side entrance leading to a central chamber that is lined with feathers.

They normally lay three to four eggs. Their breeding cycle, like many small birds, is over within one month. The eggs take up to twelve days to hatch and the chicks fly within three weeks. Most small bird species will breed more that once during a prolonged rainy season, while the conditions are right.

They breed mainly from December to May.

Cannot recall seeing any in Kruger other than at Croc Bridge campsite.

I saw one at the tented camp at Lower Sabie. It was very shy, very active and very beautiful.

I believe the blue waxbill builds it's nest near a wasps nest for protection, is this true ?

This is a lekker bit of waxbill trivia...

... about them building their nests near those of wasps, for protection against predators, so the bush legend goes...

As a matter of fact Blue waxbills often use the old nests of scarlet-chested sunbirds or spectacled weavers or even use a black-chested prinia nest as the base on which to build their own nest. Even in these instances wasp nests are found in the vicinity, but there is no evidence that this is seen by any of these birds as a deterrent to predators. It is more likely that healthy wasp nests act as indicators that the area is clear of arboreal (tree-dwelling) ants, which, if present, could swamp both wasp and bird nests, causing them to be deserted. So, the birds may actively look for wasp nests, but for a different reason!

Found this bit of info in Sasol Birds - The Inside Story.

The "inside" story, nogal...

Yes, it is rather amazing!

During the first KNP BBW I went to this story came up and a very clever lady (can't remember her name anymore) who was our expert at Shingwedzi refuted the bush legend much as I recounted earlier. After reading your post I went into my birding bible (Roberts VII) and found much the same explanation there, so I am happy to stick to the info I gave

However, if one thinks about it, it is really just the various authors hypothesizing as to an explanation for this phenomenon... I mean, even the Roberts author is suggesting an "alternative" explanation for this behaviour; there is no evidence quoted as the basis for the arboreal ants theory! It will be grand if we could find some conclusion based on research as to the real reason for birds building their nests near those of wasps.

Let's see if we get some real experts to contribute.

Well done, Freda, great work on finding that info.