Common Waxbill vs Natterer's Bat

Estrilda astrild compared with Myotis nattereri

Key Differences

• Common Waxbill is Least Concern while Natterer's Bat is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Waxbill	Natterer's Bat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Estrildidae	Vespertilionidae
Genus	Estrilda	Myotis
Species	Estrilda astrild	Myotis nattereri

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Waxbill and Natterer's Bat share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Common Waxbill

LC — Least Concern

Natterer's Bat

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Waxbill	Natterer's Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Waxbill

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Cabo Verde, Mauritius, Sao Tome and Principe), Asia (Taiwan, United Arab Emirates), Europe (9 countries), North America (Trinidad and Tobago, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Vanuatu), and South America (Brazil, Uruguay).

Natterer's Bat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate grasslands and steppes within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Waxbill

The most widespread waxbill in Africa, common waxbills are native to sub-Saharan Africa but have been introduced across the Iberian Peninsula, Brazil, Hawaii, and several Atlantic islands, becoming one of the world's most widely distributed cage bird escapees. Small, lively finches with red bills and a red stripe through the eye, they inhabit rank grasslands and areas near water. Highly gregarious, often seen in large mixed flocks with other estrildids.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway