A highly attractive waxbill who wears a deep-blue tail and purple belly all topped off by an eye-catching red hood and blue spectacles.

Meet the Purple Waxbill

“File:Purple Grenadier – Kenya IMG 4572 (22961226066).jpg” by Francesco Veronesi from Italy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The purple grenadier (Granatina ianthinogaster) measures 13.3 cm (5.25 inches) in length sporting a cinnamon-colored head and neck with an eye-catching blue patch surrounding each eye. He has a purple breast, belly, and flanks. The rump is purple too, finished off by a dark blue-black tail. Legs are light to dark grey, and the bills are mainly red.

“File:Uraeginthus-Ianthinogaster-Female.JPG” by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

While female birds are not as eye-catching as male birds they are still vibrant. They too wear blue eye patches, though they are more silvery-blue. Her underparts are light brown flecked with white. Upperparts are primarily brown.

Juvenile birds look more like females but are mostly an unbarred tawny-brown with a red-brown bill.

“Purple grenadier (Uraeginthus ianthinogaster)” by Lip Kee is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

These birds are found in eastern Africa Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

“File:Purple Grenadier male RWD4.jpg” by DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Purple grenadiers prefer to live in arid areas, especially in acacia thickets, thorn scrub, and sometimes open busy areas. They can be found from sea level up to 1600 meters.

“Purple Grenadier – Aberdares – Kenya CD5A1480” (cropped) by fveronesi1 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

They like to forage mainly on the ground for grass seeds and insects such as termites and tiny spiders.

“Purple grenadier” by (cropped) cyanocorax is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

The breeding season for the Purple grenadier starts during the rainy season depending on when that starts in the country they live in. This is when the male grabs hold of a grass stem or feather, placing it in his beak and bobbing his head up and down to attract a female. Once successful the pair build a nest in low shrubs made from fine grass before lining the interior with feathers. Within 3 to 5 eggs are laid and incubated for up to 14 days.

“File:2009-purple-grenadier.jpg” by Yathin S Krishnappa is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

After hatching young birds will fledge after around 21 days.

“File:Purple Grenadier male RWD3.jpg” by DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

This bird is regarded as of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

“File:Uraeginthus-Ianthinogaster-Serengeti.JPG” by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

You can watch this bird right here in the video below: