MyKrugerHoliday
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source ↗
Bronze Mannikin
Gewone Fret · Spermestes cucullata
One of the smallest seed-eaters in the park, sociable and busy, with a dark hood, white underparts, barred flanks and a glossy bronze-green wing patch. Flocks feed on grass seeds, clambering over seedheads and gathering on camp lawns. They huddle together to roost and keep up soft buzzing calls. Their untidy grass nests are built in bushes and creepers.
Log your Bronze Mannikin sighting — free →How to identify it
Tiny, with a dark hood, white belly and barred flanks, plus a glossy bronze-green shoulder patch and a stubby grey bill.
Listen for its call
Buzzy "chizza-chizza" from a tight little feeding party.
Where to see it in Kruger
Resident around camps, gardens and weedy edges, feeding in busy little flocks on grass seedheads and lawns.
Did you know
These little birds love company and often huddle in a tight row, all squashed together along one twig.
See it? Log it — free.
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