On 24 May 2025, a group of prominent Austrian birders (Lukas Strobl, Helmut Schaffer, and Rainer Praschak) together with local bird guide Ismael Khalifa, successfully recorded and documented the Crimson-rumped Waxbill (Estrilda rhodopyga) along the shores of Lake Nasser near Abu Simbel, southern Egypt.
The observation was particularly memorable for the entire group, as the species represented a life bird for each of the visiting birders. For Ismael Khalifa, however, the encounter carried an even deeper significance. With this observation and its accompanying photographic and video documentation, he became the first Egyptian birder known to have observed and documented the Crimson-rumped Waxbill on Egyptian territory.
During the encounter, Khalifa managed to film two individuals as they cooled off at the water’s edge on the shores of Lake Nasser, providing valuable behavioral documentation of this remarkable African finch in Egypt.
The sighting was independently documented by multiple observers and uploaded to the Macaulay Library, with records from both Ismael Khalifa and Helmut Schaffer from the Abu Simbel area on the same date. The observation took place at Lake Nasser near Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate.
Video footage of the birds can be viewed here:
The Crimson-rumped Waxbill is a small estrildid finch native to eastern Africa and is generally considered a scarce and poorly known species within Egypt. Its occurrence around Lake Nasser further highlights the reservoir’s growing importance as a refuge for African bird species extending northward into Egyptian territory.