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Where to see

Where to see the Common Waxbill in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Common Waxbill at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve and Kruger National Park.

Estrilda astrild

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Common Waxbill
Photo: (c) Douglas, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Douglas

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Common Waxbill

Hosts have recorded the Common Waxbill at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve and Kruger National Park.

Best hours of the day

  • The first hours after sunrise, and late afternoon. Birds call and feed most in the cool.
  • Midday. Quieter, especially in summer heat.

Where to base yourself

  • Western Cape

    Western Cape

    Cederberg Wilderness Area · Goukamma · Anysberg

    Self-driveGuided drivesMalaria-free
    Stays in Western Cape
    Western Cape
  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • Eastern Cape

    Eastern Cape

    Kwandwe

    Guided drivesMalaria-free
    Stays in Eastern Cape
    Eastern Cape

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

Cederberg Wilderness AreaGoukammaKrugerAnysbergGamkaberg

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

KwandweGondwana

Species

Estrilda astrild

Records

2,573

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Common Waxbill on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the Common Waxbill in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Common Waxbill at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Goukamma Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park, Anysberg Nature Reserve, Gamkaberg Nature Reserve and Kwandwe Private Game Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

Where can you see the Common Waxbill in South Africa?

The Common Waxbill is most recorded in Western Cape (59% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (16% of records), Gauteng (6% of records), based on 2,573 iNaturalist observations. 95 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Common Waxbill on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Common Waxbill?

The Common Waxbill is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Cederberg Wilderness Area: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; Anysberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the Common Waxbill?

The common waxbill (Estrilda astrild), also known as the St Helena waxbill, is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa but has been introduced to many other regions of the world and now has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km2. It is popular and easy to keep in captivity.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Common Waxbill

Every stay on the Common Waxbill page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

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