Grey-headed Silverbill - BirdForum Opus

Photo by volker sthamer
Yabello, Ethiopia, April 2011

Spermestes griseicapilla

Odontospiza griseicapilla

Identification

11 cm (4¼ in)

• Bluish-grey head with white spots on forehead, face and upper throat
• Brown mantle and back
• White rump and upper-tail coverts

Distribution

Africa: found from southern Ethiopia to Kenya and central Tanzania.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Placed in Lonchura by Dickinson² and Gill & Wright³; this species has in the past been placed in genus Spermestes with scientific name Spermestes caniceps⁴ and in genus Lonchura with scientific name Lonchura griseicapilla. The scientific name Odontospiza caniceps is also used for this species.

Habitat

Dry acacia thorn scrub, grasslands, riverine trees and open woodland.

Behaviour

Their diet consists of small grass and herb seeds. Small insects are taken, especially when raising young.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Dickinson, EC, ed. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. 3rd ed., with updates to December 2007 (Corrigenda 7). Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117010
3. Gill, F and M Wright. 2008. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, USA. 2006. ISBN 9780691128276. Update (2008) downloaded from http://worldbirdnames.org/names.html.
4. Gill, F and M Wright. 2008. Birds of the World: Recommended English Names. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ, USA. 2006. ISBN 9780691128276. Update (2008) downloaded from http://worldbirdnames.org/names.html.
5. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey-headed Silverbill. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey-headed_Silverbill

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