Lagonosticta rubricata
The shy African Firefinch is a tiny (11cm, 10g) seedeater inhabiting humid thickets in savanna and riverine woodland. They are usually seen in pairs or small groups.
Pairs are monogamous and the male is responsible for the building of the small ball-shaped grass-nest in a densely-leaved bush or dense grass during the summer months. Both parents share the incubation duties for the clutch of 2-5 eggs, which hatch after about two weeks. The nestlings are fed on small insects and fledge when they about 3 weeks old. The chicks become independent around 2 weeks after leaving the nest.
The African Firefinch has a rather patchy distribution across much of sub-Saharan Africa. The IUCN lists it as being of least concern. In South Africa they can be found from the Eastern Cape, through Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo and into Gauteng and the North West Province.
DeWetsWild 
You are into shy birds at the moment.
Nearly as spectacular as the red bishop, but not quite!
Few can match the bishop’s flamboyance!
These little guys are so special too. Their kind of tinkly call sometimes reveals their presence even when they remain unseen. Nice to see them showcased on your blog.
Thank you, Carol! They sure make you work for a photo of them!
Yes they do!
Great , as usual again u come back with dashing stuff
Thank you kindly, Sanal!
And another beautiful little bird. I love this one! (My votes are in.)
They’re so small and pretty, if it weren’t for the flashes of colour they’d easily go unnoticed.
Thank you for the support, Deb – we really appreciate it!
You are quite welcome!
They may be shy, but such wonderful birds. From a human-perspective, it’s lovely to see that pairs are monagomous and both parents contribute to taking care of the chicks.
I have already put in my votes for you, and hope you get a great result this year as well! 🙂
And I bet they are better at keeping their vows to one another than many humans!
Thank you again for the support, Takami!
What a pretty bird! Like a precious jewel. 😍
Absolutely Sylvia!
That is a perfect name for this little one!
I was very glad when the little male posed so beautifully that the name could be self-explanatory!
You have some of the prettiest birds–this one is adorable!
The firefinches are pretty and oh so lively!
Laat my aan blou sysie dink. Hoe groot is hul in vergelyking met sysies? Klein kompakte voeltjie.
Hulle is selfs nog kleiner as die sysies, Ineke, en soek gereeld saam met hulle kos.
Aha, nou kan ek n prentjie vorm. Dan is hul beslis petiet en klein.