(range description, reference updated) |
(Picture of female southern subspecies) |
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*Yellow eyering | *Yellow eyering | ||
==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
| + | [[Image:Red_Billed_Firefinch.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo by {{user|keith+mitchell|keith mitchell}}<br />[[Gambia]], 2007]] | ||
Sub-Saharan [[Africa]] :<br /> | Sub-Saharan [[Africa]] :<br /> | ||
'''Northern Africa''': occurs only in [[Algeria]]<br /> | '''Northern Africa''': occurs only in [[Algeria]]<br /> | ||
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==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
====Subspecies==== | ====Subspecies==== | ||
| − | [[Image: | + | [[Image:18052360.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female, Subspecies ''rendalli''<br />Photo © by {{user|charelli|charelli}}<br />[[Botswana]], May 2018]] |
''Lagonosticta senegala'' has six subspecies:<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup> | ''Lagonosticta senegala'' has six subspecies:<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup> | ||
*''L. s. senegala'' | *''L. s. senegala'' | ||
Revision as of 21:45, 27 June 2018
- Lagonosticta senegala
Identification
9-10cm (3½-4 in).
Adult male
- Scarlet head, neck, breast and belly
- Brownish wings and vent area
- Scarlet rump and upper tail
- Tip of tail black
- Reddish-pink Bill
- Yellow eyering
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa :
Northern Africa: occurs only in Algeria
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland
African Islands: Cape Verde
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Lagonosticta senegala has six subspecies:[1]
- L. s. senegala
- Cape Verde Islands; Senegal and Mali to Nigeria
- L. s. rhodopsis
- Eastern Mali to western Sudan, northern and western South Sudan, Eritrea, and western Ethiopia
- L. s. ruberrima
- L. s. brunneiceps
- Southeastern South Sudan, and central Ethiopia
- L. s. somaliensis
- L. s. rendalli
- Southern Angola to southern Tanzania, and central and eastern South Africa
Habitat
Grassland with acacia thornbush, thickets and cultivated areas.
Behaviour
They can often be found with other species such as the Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu.
Diet
Diet consists mostly of small grass seeds and grain.
Breeding
They construct a dome-shaped nest of grass, which is usually placed in a bush. The clutch consists of 3-6 white eggs. The Village Indigobird is a brood parasite.
Vocalisation
Song: a rising chick-pea-pea-pea.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved December 2016)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-billed Firefinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-billed_Firefinch
