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Difference between revisions of "Village Indigobird" - BirdForum Opus

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;[[:Category:Vidua|Vidua]] chalybeata
 
;[[:Category:Vidua|Vidua]] chalybeata
[[Image:14577Village Indigobird.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Reini<br />Photo taken: Tendaba, [[The Gambia]]]]
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[[Image:14577Village Indigobird.jpg|thumb|550px|right|''V. c. chalybeata'' <br />Photo by {{user|Reini|Reini}}<br />Tendaba, [[The Gambia]], November 2005]]
 
==Identification==
 
==Identification==
 
Length 11-12 cm, mass 11.1-16.4 g.
 
Length 11-12 cm, mass 11.1-16.4 g.
  
'''Breeding male''': Glossy black plumage. Bill red or white, depending on subspecies. Legs and feet orange, and eyes dark brown.
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'''Breeding male''': Glossy black plumage. Legs and feet orange, and eyes dark brown. Bill red or white, depending on subspecies: Red in eastern Africa, white west of Victoria falls and pale in the Gambia.  
 
 
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
Sub-Saharan [[Africa]].
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Sub-Saharan [[Africa]]:<br />
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'''Western Africa''': [[Mauritania]], [[Senegambia]], [[Senegal]], [[The Gambia]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Guinea]], [[Mali]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Liberia]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Ghana]], [[Togo]], [[Benin]], [[Nigeria]], [[Niger]], [[Chad]], [[Cameroon]], [[Central African Republic]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], [[Angola]]<br />
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'''Eastern Africa''': [[Sudan]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Somalia]], [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]], [[Rwanda]], [[Burundi]], [[Tanzania]], [[Zambia]], [[Mozambique]], [[Malawi]]<br />
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'''Southern Africa''': [[Namibia]], [[Botswana]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[South Africa]], [[Lesotho]], [[Swaziland]]
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[[Image:Village_Indigobird_Steve_G_n_of_Malindi_Kenya.jpg|thumb|350px|right|''V. c. amauropteryx'' <br />Photo by {{user|Steve+G|Steve G}} <br />North of Malindi, coastal [[Kenya]], August 2007 ]]
 
==Taxonomy==
 
==Taxonomy==
 
Six subspecies:
 
Six subspecies:
*''V. c. chalybeata'' from Senegal to Mali, breeding male with white bill and feet light orange to bright reddish orange;
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*''V. c. chalybeata'' from [[Senegal]] to [[Mali]], breeding male with white bill and feet light orange to bright reddish orange
*''V. c. neumanni'' from eastern Mali and Burkino Faso to southern Sudan and Eritrea;
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*''V. c. neumanni'' from eastern [[Mali]] and [[Burkino Faso]] to southern [[Sudan]] and [[Eritrea]];
*''V. c. ultramarina'' from Ethiopia;
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*''V. c. ultramarina'' from [[Ethiopia]]
*''V. c. centralis'' from inland Kenya and Tanzania to southern Zaire and north-eastern Zambia;
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*''V. c. centralis'' from inland [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]] to southern [[Zaire]] and north-eastern [[Zambia]]
*''V. c. okavangoensis'' north-western Botswana, Caprivi (north-eastern Namibia), Angola and western Zambia;
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*''V. c. okavangoensis'' north-western [[Botswana]], Caprivi (north-eastern [[Namibia]]), [[Angola]] and western [[Zambia]]
*''V. c. amauropteryx'' coastal eastern Africa (southern Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania) and inland central and southern Africa (southern Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana, eastern South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique), breeding male with bill and feet orange to red;
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*''V. c. amauropteryx'' coastal eastern [[Africa]] (southern [[Somalia]], [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]]) and inland central and southern Africa (southern [[Zambia]], [[Malawi]], [[Zimbabwe]], eastern [[Botswana]], eastern [[South Africa]], [[Swaziland]] and [[Mozambique]]), breeding male with bill and feet orange to red
 
==Habitat==
 
==Habitat==
 
Savanna, rank vegetation near rivers, roads, croplands and human settlements, and mopane woodlands near water.
 
Savanna, rank vegetation near rivers, roads, croplands and human settlements, and mopane woodlands near water.
 
==Behaviour==
 
==Behaviour==
 +
====Diet====
 
Feeds on grass seeds (1-2 mm in diameter) on the ground; termite aletes are also eaten, as is cereal meal in villages. Breeding females eat the eggs of the host.
 
Feeds on grass seeds (1-2 mm in diameter) on the ground; termite aletes are also eaten, as is cereal meal in villages. Breeding females eat the eggs of the host.
 
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====Breeding====
'''Breeding''': Brood parasite of mainly the [[Red-billed Firefinch]].
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Brood parasite of mainly the [[Red-billed Firefinch]].
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
Fry H, Keith S,Woodcook M & Willis I. 2004. ''Birds of Africa Vol VII: Sparrows to Buntings''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0713665319
 
Fry H, Keith S,Woodcook M & Willis I. 2004. ''Birds of Africa Vol VII: Sparrows to Buntings''. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0713665319
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{{ref}}
 
==External Links==
 
==External Links==
 
{{GSearch|Vidua+chalybeata}}
 
{{GSearch|Vidua+chalybeata}}
  
 
[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Vidua]]
 
[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Vidua]]

Revision as of 00:36, 10 September 2011

Vidua chalybeata
V. c. chalybeata
Photo by Reini
Tendaba, The Gambia, November 2005

Identification

Length 11-12 cm, mass 11.1-16.4 g.

Breeding male: Glossy black plumage. Legs and feet orange, and eyes dark brown. Bill red or white, depending on subspecies: Red in eastern Africa, white west of Victoria falls and pale in the Gambia.

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa:
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland

V. c. amauropteryx
Photo by Steve G
North of Malindi, coastal Kenya, August 2007

Taxonomy

Six subspecies:

Habitat

Savanna, rank vegetation near rivers, roads, croplands and human settlements, and mopane woodlands near water.

Behaviour

Diet

Feeds on grass seeds (1-2 mm in diameter) on the ground; termite aletes are also eaten, as is cereal meal in villages. Breeding females eat the eggs of the host.

Breeding

Brood parasite of mainly the Red-billed Firefinch.

References

Fry H, Keith S,Woodcook M & Willis I. 2004. Birds of Africa Vol VII: Sparrows to Buntings. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0713665319

Recommended Citation

External Links

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