---
title: "Orange-cheeked Waxbill"
description: "Estrilda melpoda — Birds. The orange-cheeked waxbill (Estrilda melpoda) is a common species of estrildid finch native to western and central Africa, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,600,000 km2."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/orange-cheeked-waxbill
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Orange-cheeked Waxbill

> Estrilda melpoda — Birds. The orange-cheeked waxbill (Estrilda melpoda) is a common species of estrildid finch native to western and central Africa, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,600,000 km2.

- Scientific name: *Estrilda melpoda*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 1096
- Wikidata: [Q1084995](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1084995)
- iNaturalist taxon: [13780](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13780)

## Names

- en: Orange-cheeked Waxbill
- de: Orangebäckchen
- es: Veterano
- fr: Astrild à joues orange
- pt: Bico-de-lacre-de-face-laranja
- pl: Astryld złotolicy

## Countries with the most observations

PR (186), SG (165), US (151), GM (60), TW (57), BJ (54), GP (47), GA (46), GH (42), CM (26), MP (25), MQ (25)

## Summary

The orange-cheeked waxbill (Estrilda melpoda) is a common species of estrildid finch native to western and central Africa, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,600,000 km2.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange-cheeked_waxbill

## Photo

![Orange-cheeked Waxbill](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/orange-cheeked-waxbill/medium.jpg)

Photo: Don Wellmann · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/252790738

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/orange-cheeked-waxbill?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).