Alternative names: Ethiopian Crimsonwing; Salvadori's Crimsonwing; Crimson-backed Forest-finch
- Cryptospiza salvadorii
Identification
10-11 cm
- Dark olive-grey top of head to upper mantle
- Dark crimson-red rest of upperparts
- Blackish tail
- Dark grey-brown upperwing, dark crimson-red wing-coverts
- Greyish face, dusky lores
- Whitish-buff chin and throat, mergin into olive-grey breast, darker on lower belly and undertail-coverts
- Dark red lower flanks
- Dark brown eye with dull pinkish to orange-red orbital ring
- kilimensis is paler below than nominate, ruwenzori has a greyer head and neck and paler underparts
Female like male but with less red on wing-coverts and flanks and duller and more greyish eyering.
Juveniles like female but upperparts are less red and underparts washed olive.
Distribution
Africa
Western Africa: Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Africa: South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania
Patchily distributed but locally fairly common.
Taxonomy
Subspecies[1]
- C. s. kilimensis:
- Southern South Sudan, eastern Uganda, Kenya (except the north), and northern Tanzania
- C. s. salvadorii:
- C. s. ruwenzori:
Probably forms a superspecies with Red-faced Crimson-wing. The proposed subspecies crystallochresta from south-western Ethiopia is usually synonymized with the nominate.
Habitat
Found in clearings and grassy edges of montane forest, fern-covered ridges, thick forest undergrowth, bracken briar and bamboo thickets. Also in secondary growth and cofee cultivation along streams.
Occurs at 1700-3000m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on seeds of grasses, balsam and stinging nettles. Takes probably also some insects.
Forages on ground in low grass or along forest tracks. Usually singly, in pairs or in small groups.
Breeding
Breeds in dry months following rains. The nest is a ball made of grass, tendrils and twigs with a side opening (sometimes a tunnel). It's placed 2-4 m above the ground in a sapling or a liana. Lays 3 to 5 eggs.
References
- 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/
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2010. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 15: Weavers to New World Warblers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553682
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Abyssinian Crimsonwing. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Abyssinian_Crimsonwing
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
