A small bird doing BIG things for conservation
Orange-breasted Waxbill conservation collaboration
A small bird in trouble?
Recent unexpected declines in the Orange-breasted Waxbill, Africa’s smallest finch, Amandava subflava, from certain parts of its natural habitat has resulted in the need for the species to be researched. The conservation project is a collaboration between BirdLife South Africa and the Rare Finch Conservation Group. This species has a wide distribution and can be found sporadically across Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging from Senegal to western Ethiopia and south through central Africa and eastern South Africa. The preferred habitat of the Orange-breasted Waxbill includes reed beds, moist grasslands and grassy savanna. They are usually seen in pairs or in family flocks of up to 20 birds. Not yet listed as threatened the species has now been selected by BirdLife South Africa as a sentinel bird for eight threatened and 84 common bird species that all use a similar habitat to itself
Male Orange-breasted Waxbill (Photo by Chris Krog)
A comparison between the Southern African Bird Atlas Project 1 (SABAP1: 1987-1991) and SABAP2 (2007 to present) suggested a possible decline in the reporting rate of the species.
This conservation project is part of a BirdLife International and BirdLife South Africa initiative for Keeping Common Birds Common.
Nylsvley Wetland (Photo by Albert Froneman)
The Orange-breasted Waxbill will serve as a sentinel species for eight threatened bird species:
|Species name||Scientific name||Regional Red list status|
|Wattled Crane||Bugeranus carunculatus||Critically Endangered|
|White-winged Flufftail||Sarothrura ayresi||Critically Endangered|
|African Marsh-Harrier||Circus ranivorus||Endangered|
|Grey Crowned Crane||Balearica regulorum||Endangered|
|African Grass-Owl||Tyto capensis||Vulnerable|
|Greater Painted-snipe||Rostratula benghalensis||Vulnerable|
|Striped Flufftail||Sarothrura affinis||Vulnerable|
|Rosy-throated Longclaw||Macronyx ameliae||Near Threatened|
Wattled Crane: Critically endangered (Photo by Bruce Ward-Smith)
White-winged Flufftail: Critically endangered (Photo by Warwick Tarboton)
African Marsh-Harrier: Endagered (Photo by Warwick Tarboton)
Grey Crowned Crane: Endangered (Photo by Albert Froneman)
African Grass-Owl: Vulnerable (Photo by Warwick Tarboton)
Greater Painted-snipe: Vulnerable ( Photo by Marietjie Froneman)
Striped Flufftail: Vulnerable (Photo by Hugh Chittenden)
Rosy-throated Longclaw: Near threatened (Photo by Albert Froneman
Main objectives of the conservation project
Distribution of the Orange-breasted Waxbill
This part of the project consists of two phases.
Results from the preliminary study show that Orange-breasted Waxbill populations are possibly expanding away from their historical distribution ranges, with pockets of increased reporting rates in certain areas.
Orange-breasted Waxbill distribution including
historical records as far back as 1900 from
the National Museum Ornithology collections,
Ditsong Museums of South Africa Ornithology
collection, Niven Library nest records and South
African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING) overlaid
with distribution data from SABAP1. The trend
indicates an increased distribution range,
specifically in KwaZulu-Natal where higher reporting
rates for SABAP1 were recorded further
afield from historical sightings. In other provinces,
Orange-breasted Waxbill distribution now
overlaid with the more recent data of the
ongoing (2007 – 2015) citizen science project,
SABAP2. The map shows that the reporting
rate has decreased from urban and developing
areas, specifically in Gauteng, where the
birds have increased in numbers on the outskirts
of the cities in the more rural areas.
BirdLasser to assist the Orange-breasted Waxbill
The BirdLasser mobile app has enabled citizen scientists to become part of the Orange-breasted Waxbill Conservation Project by allowing any sightings of Orange-breasted Waxbill to be shared directly with BirdLife South Africa.
If you would like to contribute to the project please download the BirdLasser app from either App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android devices). To join the Orange-breasted Waxbill cause, simply tap on “settings”, scroll down to Causes, tap on “Support causes” and select the Orange-breasted Waxbill Project. All the Orange-breasted Waxbill sightings will be available to BirdLife South Africa, which will help us to understand the current distribution and analyse trends in distribution of this species.
For more information please visit the BirdLasser website at www.birdlasser.com
small is BIG Orange-breasted Waxbill
The small is BIG is an Orange-breasted Waxbill Conservation Project public awareness campaign. It brings attention to not only the plight of the little Orange-breasted Waxbill, but also the Keeping Common Birds Common initiative. The small is BIG Fiat 500, proudly sponsored by Arnold Chatz Cars, Hyde Park, Johannesburg is contributing significantly to conservation awareness whenever it is seen in the bustling streets of Gauteng and further when it is used to visit schools, universities, bird clubs and nature reserves to speak out about the Orange-breasted Waxbill and the Keeping Common Birds Common initiative. Click here to read about the small is BIG event.
The little Orange-breasted Waxbill, with its bright orange colour, will be made into a hero bird (helping save eight threatened and 84 common bird species) that can be admired by both children and adults alike.Preferably both the small size of the bird as well as the colour orange will be simultaneously leveraged to their maximum effect.The campaign includes the development of posters, banners, articles, press releases and social media Public event initiatives and merchandise help to raise awareness and funds for this important new conservation project.
A solo cycle ride from Cape to Vic Falls for a small bird
To kick-start the public awareness campaign for the Orange-breasted Waxbill, one man dared a 3000 km solo bicycle ride from Cape Town to Victoria Falls. Eelco Meyjes, who is both a director of the Rare Finch Conservation Group and a BirdLife South Africa member, began his journey on 15 March 2015 from Cape Town, South Africa, via Botswana, and ended in Vic Falls, Zimbabwe. He passed through 55 villages and towns on his route. The ride of an average of nearly 82 km per day was completed in a period of 44 days (including seven rest days) covering a distance of 3008 km while carrying a kit of 35 kilograms.
Not only did Eelco gain many once-in-a-life-time experiences, but he also completed an inspiring awareness campaign for this tiny little finch.
Founded in 2005 The Rare Finch Conservation Group is registered in South Africa as a non-profit organisation and is totally dependent on donors and sponsors to carry out its conservation work on finches. All donations will be publicly acknowledged, unless otherwise requested, on the RFCG website. Donations can be made to the following account. Rare Finch Conservation Group, Nedbank. Account number 1933 198885 Branch: Sandown 193 305 South Africa (For international donors please add) SWIFT NEDSZAJJ.