Includes Pale-billed Firefinch = Landana Firefinch
Alternative name: Blue-billed Firefinch
- Lagonosticta rubricata
Identification
This is a small, wary but brightly coloured ground-feeding bird. It is also known as the Blue-billed Firefinch because of its bill colour.
Distribution
Africa south of the Sahara
Western Africa: Senegambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, eSwatini
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- L. r. polionata: Guinea to Nigeria.
- L. r. congica: Cameroon south to northern Angola, east to South Sudan, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Uganda.
- L. r. haematocephala: eastern South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia south through Uganda and Kenya to Zambia, eastern Zimbabwe, Malawi, and central Mozambique.
- L. r. landanae: Cabinda and lower Congo River to northwest Angola and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- L. r. rubricata: South Africa, eSwatini and Mozambique south of the Save River.
Subspecies landanae was formerly considered a full species (Pale-billed Firefinch = Landana Firefinch), but it is now considered too similar to this species to uphold that status.
Habitat
Bush and tall grass. Thickets in thornveld, riverine scrub, forest edges and suburbia. In more moist habitats than most firefinches.
Behaviour
Feeds on small seeds and small insects on the ground.
References
- Fry H, Keith S,Woodcook M & Willis I. 2004. Birds of Africa Vol VII: Sparrows to Buntings. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0713665319
- Avibase
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) African Firefinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Firefinch
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
