Zebra Waxbill - BirdForum Opus

Alternative name: Orange-breasted Waxbill

Amandava subflava

Photo by rudydbn
This male was photographed in Eston, KZN, South Africa.

Identification

9cm. Reddish iris, orange breast, red bill and dark olive-green plumage. Male - red rump, dark bars on the whitish flank and scarlet eyebrow stripe. Female - duller and smaller than male and lacks the red eyebrow.

Distribution

Sub Saharan Africa.

Taxonomy

There are two recognized subspecies.¹

• A. s. subflavus
  • Senegal to southern Sudan
  • Ethiopia and western Kenya
  • Southern Yemen
• A. s. clarkei
  • Gabon and western Angola to Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa

Habitat

Grassland and savannas.

Behaviour

The diet includes seeds, insects and shoots.

4-6 eggs are laid in oval-shaped nest made from grass.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.

External Links

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