Trumpeter Finch
Bucanetes githagineus
Small finch with a big, chunky bill, long wings, and a short tail. In the breeding season, males have a pinked tinged bill, forehead, rump, vent, wings, and tail. In winter sexes look alike and equally nondescript. Normally sings on the ground uttering short nasal notes. Found in desert and semi-desert areas. Nests on the ground in the open or under shrubs.
Identification
The trumpeter finch is a small, long-winged bird. It has a large head and short, very thick bill. The summer male has a red bill, grey head and neck, and pale brown upper parts. The breast, rump and tail are pink, the last having dark terminal feathers. Winter males, females and young birds are a very washed-out version of the breeding male. The song of this bird is a buzzing nasal trill, like a tin trumpet.
Taxonomy
Genus: Bucanetes; Family: Fringillidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Bucanetes githagineus
- Authority
- (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1823)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Bucanetes
Range and habitat
Trumpeter finches occur in desert, semi-desert and the margins of deserts. They can also be found in vast open steppe areas where there are dry desolate hills with sparse low scrubby vegetation, edges of fields, on mountain slopes, in stony plains where there are no trees, cliffs, ravines, gorges and wadis. In the desert regions of northern Africa it can also occur in villages and gardens and in regions of open sandy desert it frequents oases. The European breeding population is found in habitats where there is no tree cover but there is sparse scrub less than a metre in height, while the birds in the Canary Islands nest on sandy plains with halophytic and xerophytic scrub, as well as in more typical habitats. The trumpeter finch breeds from the Canary Islands eastwards across North Africa, as far south as Mauritania, Mali and Chad, with isolated populations in Sudan and Ethiopia and Djibouti. In the Middle East, it is found in Egypt east to Iraq and south in the Arabian Peninsula to Yemen and Oman and north into Turkey and Armenia. In central Asia it ranges from Iran north to Kazakhstan and east to India. It has colonised southern Spain where breeding was first proved in 1971.<p>There are four recognised subspecies:<p>It has been recorded as a vagrant in Great Britain with the first records there both occurring in 1971 in Suffolk and in Sutherland, Channel Island, Denmark, Sweden Germany and Austria. It is possibly a regular migrant in southern Europe away from Spain with records of flocks from Italy and Malta. There was a population in the Algarve in Portugal which originated from escaped cage birds.<p>In the summer of 2005, there was a notable irruption of this species into northwestern Europe, with several birds reaching as far as England.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Grasshopper Sparrow
Ammodramus savannarum
Small, short-tailed, flat-headed sparrow found in weedy grasslands. Warm buffy coloration with clean unstreaked breast. Thin white eyering and yellow patch above eye. Back and wings are patterned with gray and rufous. Easy to see when singing atop a shrub, but can be very secretive much of the year. Best detected by its dry, insect like trill preceded by a few introductory notes. Typically not in flocks.
African Barred Owlet
Glaucidium capense
Chunky brownish owlet. Shows bars on the breast and spots on the belly. There is significant though subtle geographic variation. The back can be solidly chestnut or brown and barred, the back of the neck is barred, and the top of the head is either spotted or barred. Found in a variety of forest, from lowland rainforest to montane forest, as well as in thickets, and thick woodland. Often active and vocal during the day. Gives a yelping series of hoots, which are usually followed by emphatic, modulated, descending “ptrrrrr” notes. Similar to Pearl-spotted Owlet but has barring rather than spotting on the upperparts, and spots and bars rather than streaking on the underparts. Very similar to the rare Albertine Owlet, but in the area of overlap, has white rather than cream spotting on top of the head, a less richly-colored chestnut back, and a white rather than buff slash across the shoulder. Also reminiscent of Red-chested Owlet, but larger, with a barred chest, and lacks white spots on the tail.
Karoo Chat
Emarginata schlegelii
A large, slender, long-tailed gray chat with bold white outer tail feathers that frame the black tail. South African races are slaty gray with grayish rumps, while Namibian races are smaller and paler with whitish rumps. This is a bold chat that perches conspicuously on fences and shrubs throughout arid rangelands, dropping to the ground to forage before flying strongly and occasionally distantly to another perch, showing the diagnostic tail pattern. The Tractrac Chat is shorter-tailed, prefers hyper-arid barren environments, and has a distinctive V-shaped black wedge in the tail that the Karoo Chat lacks.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.