Anomalospiza imberbis
The Cuckoo Finch is an uncommon and highly nomadic bird in South Africa, with a patchy distribution across parts of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwazulu-Natal, and a much sought-after tick on the list of many avid local birdwatchers. These seed-eaters may migrate widely in response to rainfall and are usually seen in small flocks of between 8 and 50, though sometimes up to a thousand may move together. They’re also found over much of sub-Saharan Africa, though in a similarly patchily distributed and nomadic fashion.
Cuckoo Finches inhabit moist grasslands and wetlands and get their name from their habit of laying their own eggs in the nests of species of Cisticola and Prinia. Females lay up to 30 eggs during the summer season, leaving a single egg per nest after removing all the host’s own eggs from it. The chick hatches within two weeks and, being fed insects by its adoptive parents, grows quickly to the point where it is able to leave the nest before it is 3 weeks old. Its host parents will take care of it for several more weeks before it joins up with a flock of other Cuckoo Finches.
The IUCN lists the Cuckoo Finch as being of least concern.
DeWetsWild 
They do stand out from the background! Beautiful colors.
What’s interesting to me is that the male stands out but the female is so wonderfully camouflaged, probably to go unnoticed when parasitizing the host nest
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So lovely! How exciting that you were able to get so many marvelous shots of this special little bird, DeWets!
Very lucky to be in the right place at the right time, Carol, as they’re never long in the same spot
A wonderful sighting! I have never seen one.
We’re lucky to have had a recent influx of a flock of them at our local Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Anne, following many months without a single sighting – they’re extremely nomadic.
What a beauty!!
The bright yellow males really stands out in a crowd!