Spermophaga

The bluebills are the genus Spermophaga of the estrildid finches family. These birds are found in tropical Africa. They are gregarious seed eaters with short, thick, blue and red bills. All have plumage which is mainly crimson and black or dark grey.

==Taxonomy== The genus Spermophaga was introduced in 1837 by the English zoologist William Swainson to accommodate a single species Spermophaga cyanorhynchus Swainson. This taxon is now treated as a junior synonym of Loxia haematina that had been described by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1807, the western bluebill. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek σπερμα/sperma, σπερματος/spermatos meaning "seed" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating".