African Quailfinch - BirdForum Opus

Male, Sub species digressa
Photo by leon
Potchefstroom, South Africa, July 2004

Ortygospiza atricollis

Includes Black-faced Quailfinch

Identification

Length 9.5-10 cm, mass 8-14 g. Very small, with short tail.

Males

• Greyish-brown upperparts
• White barring on chest and flanks
• Black facial mask
• Red bill when breeding
• Pinkish legs
• Long hind claw

Females lack the facial mask and are duller.
Juveniles similar to the female but have fainter barring and a darker bill.

Usually located and identified by repeated djink flight call. The absence of red or orange on the rump distinguishes it from Locustfinch and Orange-breasted Waxbill.

Distribution

Most of Africa south of Sahara; Senegal east to western Cameroon, southern Sudan to Angola and south to South Africa.

Taxonomy

This species has six to nine subspecies divided into two groups which are sometimes viewed as two species:^1,2
Black-faced Quailfinch (Ortygospiza atricollis) with subspecies:

• O. a. atricollis (ugandae):

• Senegal to Cameroon

• O. a. ugandae:

• Southern Sudan, north-western Uganda, north-eastern Zaire and western Kenya

• O. a. ansorgei:

• Guinea-Bissau to Liberia, Ivory Coast and coastal Ghana
  

African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa) with subspecies:

• O. f. fuscocrissa:

• Highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea

• O. f. muelleri (bradfieldi, miniscula):

• Kenya to Zambia, Angola, Namibia, northern Cape Province, Transvaal

• O. f. smithersi:

• North-eastern Zambia

• O. f. pallida:

• Northern Botswana and adjacent north-western Zimbabwe

• O. f. digressa:

• Eastern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland

Habitat

Open areas with patchy grass growth, near water, sandy grassland, marsh, farms and croplands, and recently mowed areas.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes small grass seeds and on occasional spiders or insects.

Breeding

A dome-shaped nest of grass stems and blades is built on the ground. 4-6 white eggs are laid and incubated by both parents.

Vocalisation

The call is a metallic djink, trillink or chwillink (often given in flight), and the song is a series of click, clack, cluck notes delivered rapidly and repeatedly.

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.
2. Gill F & Wright M. 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
3. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
4. Answers.com
5. Feathered Flyer

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Quailfinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Quailfinch

External Links

Search for photos of African Quailfinch in the gallery