Reichard's Seedeater

Crithagra reichardi

Medium-sized brown seedeater. Note the boldly marked face with a streaked crown, white eyebrow, and broad dark brown patch through the eye; also note pale streaks on breast. Found in woodland habitats including miombo. Gives a pretty, musical up-and-down song of whistles and trills. The call is a harsh “chu-wee-uu.” Similar to Black-eared Seedeater, but the ear markings are dark brown rather than black.

Identification

Reichard's seedeater (Crithagra reichardi) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is native to the miombo savanna (mainly Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania). It is named after the German explorer Paul Reichard. Reichard's seedeater was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic. The genus was therefore split and a number of species including Reichard's seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra. The stripe-breasted seedeater (C. striatipectus) was formerly conspecific, but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021.

Taxonomy

Genus: Crithagra; Family: Fringillidae; Order: Passeriformes.

Scientific name
Crithagra reichardi
Authority
(Reichenow, 1882)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Fringillidae
Genus
Crithagra

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Behavior

Migration pattern: Resident species.

Conservation

Population trend: stable.

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

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