The Chad firefinch or Reichenow's firefinch (''Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

belonging to the

firefinch The firefinches form a genus, ''Lagonosticta'', of small seed-eating African birds in the family Estrildidae. The genus was introduced by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis in 1851. The type species was subsequently designated as the African ...

genus ''Lagonosticta'' in the

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a 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. Despite the word "fi ...

family Estrildidae. It is restricted to a small area of

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, E ...

. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of Jameson's firefinch (''L. rhodopareia'') but is now often treated as a separate species. Its alternative name commemorates

Anton Reichenow Anton Reichenow (1 August 1847 in Charlottenburg – 6 July 1941 in Hamburg) was a German ornithologist and herpetologist. Reichenow was the son-in-law of Jean Cabanis, and worked at the Natural History Museum of Berlin from 1874 to 1921. He ...

, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

who described this species.

Description

It is 10–11 centimetres long. The male is mostly bright pinkish-red, darker on the upperparts. The crown and nape are grey and the vent is dark. The thick, conical

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is grey and the legs and feet are also grey. Females are similar to males but are slightly duller, paler and browner. Juveniles are brown above and buff below with a pinkish-red rump. The birds have dry, trilling calls. Jameson's firefinch is similar but lacks the grey crown and nape and does not overlap in range. The

rock firefinch The rock firefinch (''Lagonosticta sanguinodorsalis'') is a species of estrildid finch found in the Jos Plateau of central Nigeria and in Cameroon. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 29,000 km2. The rock firefinch was discove ...

(''L. sanguinodorsalis'') is also similar but has grey only on the crown and its bill has a pale grey patch at the base of the lower mandible.

Distribution and habitat

The bird is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to the

East Sudanian Savanna The East Sudanian savanna is a hot, dry, tropical savanna ecoregion of Central and East Africa. Geography The East Sudanian savanna is the eastern half of the Sudanian savanna belt which runs east and west across Africa. The eastern lies ea ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

. It occurs in south-west

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

where it is fairly common and north-east

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

where it is rare. It inhabits on grasslands, and rocky hillsides in areas of arid

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

with tall grass. Little is known about the behaviour of this species. They breed during the wet season. Pairs of birds feed on seeds on the ground.Payne, R. (2017). Chad Firefinch (''Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/61148 on 9 March 2017).

References

;Sources * Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davies, John (1993) ''Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide'', Christopher Helm, London. * Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara'', Struik, Cape Town. {{Taxonbar, from=Q373067 Chad firefinch Birds of Central Africa Fauna of Chad Chad firefinch