Black-faced firefinch
Introduction


The **black\-faced firefinch** (***Lagonosticta larvata***) is a common species of [estrildid finch](/wiki/Estrildid_finch "Estrildid finch") found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 2,100,000 km2.

It is found in [Benin](/wiki/Benin "Benin"), [Burkina Faso](/wiki/Burkina_Faso "Burkina Faso"), [Cameroon](/wiki/Cameroon "Cameroon"), [Central African Republic](/wiki/Central_African_Republic "Central African Republic"), [Chad](/wiki/Chad "Chad"), [The Democratic Republic of the Congo](/wiki/The_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo "The Democratic Republic of the Congo"), [Côte d'Ivoire](/wiki/C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire "Côte d'Ivoire"), [Ethiopia](/wiki/Ethiopia "Ethiopia"), [Gambia](/wiki/Gambia "Gambia"), [Ghana](/wiki/Ghana "Ghana"), [Guinea\-Bissau](/wiki/Guinea-Bissau "Guinea-Bissau"), [Mali](/wiki/Mali "Mali"), [Niger](/wiki/Niger "Niger"), [Nigeria](/wiki/Nigeria "Nigeria"), [Senegal](/wiki/Senegal "Senegal"), [Sierra Leone](/wiki/Sierra_Leone "Sierra Leone"), [Sudan](/wiki/Sudan "Sudan"), [Togo](/wiki/Togo "Togo") and [Uganda](/wiki/Uganda "Uganda"). The status of the species is evaluated as [Least Concern](/wiki/Least_Concern "Least Concern").

*Lagonosticta vinacea* was a separate species, but findings by Dowsett and Forbes\-Watson in 1993 led to reassigning of the *L. vinacea* species as a population under *L. larvata*.


Was there a separate species, Lagonosticta vinacea, and if so what happened to it?