Blue-capped Cordonbleu
Blue-capped Cordonbleus are beautiful little African finches. They live in grassland and shrub habitat in parts of East Africa. These colorful finches eat both seeds and insects. Their thick finch bills earn them the nickname "waxbill."
The male Blue-capped Cordonbleu has bright blue upperparts with tawny brown wings and belly feathers. Females are similar but duller in plumage, with less blue around the head.
Because of their beauty, quiet nature, and willingness to breed in captivity, Blue-capped Cordonbleus are popular aviary or pet birds. Despite the continued practice of capturing wild birds for the pet trade, the species has a conservation status of Least Concern.
Details & Statistics
- Least Concern (LC)
- Near Threatened (NT)
- Vulnerable (VU)
- Endangered (EN)
- Critically Endangered (CR)
- Extinct in the Wild (EW)
- Extinct (EX)
Conservation
The Blue-capped Cordonbleu is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and was last assessed in 2012 by BirdLife International. This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
International Names
