Formerly called the steelblue widow finch, is a common resident, highly nomadic when not breeding.
Favours savanna, secondary growth around cultivation, dry thickets with rank grass often with patches of dry ground where they feed on seeds.
Distributed from Northern KZN across most of the North Eastern parts of South Africa and Botswana, and all of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The indigo birds are gregarious when not breeding in quite large flocks otherwise solitary, often with hosts which are the red-billed fire finch.
Their song incorporates imitations of the fire finch chip chree chiriririri – chiri – sweeu – chreerr and a loud clear tswee call.
Breeding takes place from December to March. Each female lays one egg per host nest with three eggs per laying session. In a season, a female can lay as many as 26 white eggs.
The incubation is 10 to 12 days, nestling period is unrecorded and the chick is independent of foster parents after about 30 days.
There is no Zulu name and in Afrikaans die staalblouvinkie.
