Common Waxbills at Kona on the Big Island of Hawai'i

It's a week of ugly and tragic news. I'm not ignoring it, I'm following closely. But I'm also choosing to find some small bit of beauty in the midst of tragedy.  Common Waxbills (Estrilda astrild) are native to Africa south of the Sahara Desert, but they were introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in fairly recent time, the 1970s. They were first noted on Oahu, but showed up in the Kona area on the Big Island only in 2002 or so. They feed mainly on grass seeds.

We saw these Waxbills at Maka'eo Jogging/Walking Path at the Old Airport Park just north of Kona on the Big Island. A small bit of beauty.