The bar-breasted firefinch (''Lagonosticta rufopicta'') is a common species of
estrildid finch
Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family (taxonomy), family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills.
...
found in western and central Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 2,900,000 km².
Description
The bar-breasted firefinch with a red head and breast and white barring or speckling on the breast. The forehead, lores and supercilium are deep red fading on the ear coverts, chin, throat and neck sides to less intensely red colour. The crown and most of the upperparts are greyish brown and rather uniform contrasting with deep red lower rump and upper tail coverts. Tail is darker brown than back with variable amounts of red near the base. Flight feathers are dark. The underparts below the crimson breast are buffy grey. Juveniles are much duller with red being confined to the rump and upper tail coverts. 11 cm in length.
Distribution
The bar-breasted firefinch is found from the Gambia and southern Senegal east to western Uganda and eastern Kenya.
Habitat and habits
The bar-breasted firefinch is a common bird of grassland, bush, acacia savanna and forest clearings but will also occur near settlements and in farmland, especially in damp areas. It occurs in pairs and small family parties, but larger flocks will form outside the breeding season and it will join mixed species flocks. It feeds on the ground on small seeds, particularly grass seeds and millet.
Taxonomy
The bar-breasted firefinch forms a superspecies with the
brown firefinch ''Lagnosticta nitidula'', and they have been considered to be conspecific.
[ Two ]subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are currently recognized, they are:[
*''Lagonosticta rufopicta rufopicta'' (Fraser, 1843): Senegal, Gambia, east to ]Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
, southern Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
and Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
.
*''Lagonosticta rufopicta lateritia'' Heuglin, 1864 – South Sudan, north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
, western Ethiopia
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
, Uganda and south-western Kenya.
References
BirdLife Species Factsheet
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1049505
bar-breasted firefinch
Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
bar-breasted firefinch
bar-breasted firefinch