This African silverbill is a small (10 cm) bird with a characteristic, plump silver-gray beak that has given it its name. It is widespread in a belt across Africa, from Senegal to the west, to Ethiopia and Somalia to the east. But it also occurs regionally in East Africa, among other places, here in Samburu. The African silverbill mostly subsists on grass seeds that it seeks on the ground. But it also spends a lot of time in trees and tall shrubs, as on this picture.