Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The aptly named Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu is a common small finch, closely related to the Blue-waxbill. It is almost everywhere, generally feeding on the ground, except in interior forest, through most of West and East Africa in a wide band across the continent south of the Sahara. The Ugandan birds are the nominate race (out of 4 races which vary by the amount of red on the face of the females), and the same race as the West African birds. One shot here is from the grounds of Pakuba Lodge and the other is from beside the track in the open savannah. They feed pretty exclusively on grass seeds. These are both males. Sony Rx10iv at or about 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. One shot was just about after sunset, and the other was just after sunrise, so both in subdued light. ISO 1250 (grass) and 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.