Parasitic Weaver
Anomalospiza imberbis
Odd little short-tailed and chunky-billed member of the indigobird family. The male is yellow, with dark wings and tail, while the female is brown and streaky on the back and buff on the face and underparts. Found in moist grassland and open savanna. Uncommon across its range. Indistinct song consists of short, rasping phrases. Male could be confused with canaries but has an all-black bill. Female resembles female bishops but has a shorter and thicker all-black bill.
识别特征
The cuckoo-finch is a small finch-like bird, about 11–13 cm long. It has a short tail, large legs and feet, and a large, deep, conical bill. The adult male has a black bill and a yellow head and underparts. The upperparts are olive-green with black streaks. The yellow areas become increasingly bright prior to the breeding season as the feathers become worn. The adult female is buff with heavy black streaking above and light streaks on the flanks; its face is largely plain buff and the throat is buff-white.It has various chattering calls. Displaying males have a nasal song.
分类信息
The species was described in 1868 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis based on a specimen from East Africa, probably from the coast opposite Zanzibar. It was initially placed in the genus Crithagra but later moved to a genus of its own, Anomalospiza. The name of the genus means "anomalous finch" with spiza being a Greek word for finch. The specific name imberbis comes from Latin and means "beardless".<p>Its closest relatives are thought to be the indigobirds and whydahs of the genus Vidua. These birds are now usually considered to form a family, Viduidae. Previously they were treated as a subfamily, Viduinae, within either the estrildid finch family, Estrildidae, or the weaver family, Ploceidae.
- 学名
- Anomalospiza imberbis
- 命名信息
- (Cabanis, 1868)
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Viduidae
- 属
- Anomalospiza
分布与栖息地
The cuckoo-finch has a scattered distribution across sub-Saharan Africa where it occurs in open or lightly wooded grassland, especially near damp areas.<p>In West Africa, it occurs in Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, eastern Nigeria, and north-west Cameroon with vagrant records from Gambia and Mali. Further east it is found in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, southern and eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and locally in the Republic of the Congo. In southern Africa, it occurs in Malawi, Zambia, southern and eastern Angola, north-east Namibia, northern and eastern Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, eastern South Africa, and Eswatini.<p>It has a large range and an apparently stable population and so is classified as least concern by BirdLife International.
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The cuckoo-finch typically occurs in pairs or small flocks during the breeding season and larger flocks outside the breeding season. It forages on the ground or perched on the flower heads of grasses or herbs. It feeds mainly on grass seeds.<p>The species is an obligate brood parasite, laying its eggs in the nests of cisticolas and prinias. The eggs are white, pale blue or pink with brown, reddish or violet markings. They are 17–17.3 mm long and 12.5–13 mm wide. The eggs are incubated for 14 days. The young bird fledges after 18 days and remains dependent on its hosts for another 10–40 days. The young of the host bird usually disappear although there have been records of the host's nestlings surviving alongside the young cuckoo-finch. Sometimes two cuckoo-finch chicks have been found in the same nest.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Blue-backed Tanager
Cyanicterus cyanicterus
Large, striking tanager of tall rainforest. Combination of size and blue-and-yellow plumage is diagnostic; female is more extensively yellow below, including on face. A generally uncommon resident of undisturbed forest regions; may also be found in shorter-stature forests on sandy soils, but is generally absent from disturbed and coastal areas. Usually seen with mixed-species flocks in the canopy. Hops clumsily among branches, gleaning insects from foliage. Distinctive, far-carrying call is two-noted, the second lower-pitched.
Scrub Euphonia
Euphonia affinis
Tiny finch of tropical lowlands and foothills, especially in drier areas. Occurs from eastern Mexico to Costa Rica, where it is found in open woodland, forest edge, and clearings with trees. Usually in pairs, sometimes small groups that associate readily with other euphonias, especially when feeding at mistletoe. Male has black head and throat with yellow forehead patch; female rather drab, but lacks vested appearance of female Yellow-throated Euphonia, which is slightly larger.
Semipalmated Plover
Charadrius semipalmatus
Small, orange-legged plover with solid dark breast band. Medium-brown upperparts are the color of wet sand, noticeably darker than Piping or Snowy Plovers. Look for short, blunt bill with orange base (often indistinct on juveniles). Feeds on mudflats and beaches, often mixed with other shorebirds. Even when in a flock, individuals are typically spread out rather than remaining a tight unit. Breeds on the tundra or rocky beaches at northern latitudes; winters to southern South America. Migrants are common and widespread, inland and coastal. Listen for distinctive two parted “chu-weep!” calls, and assorted chortles and chuckles.
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