Eyebrow sparrow
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Eyebrow Sparrow ( Gymnoris superciliaris ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Gymnoris superciliaris | ||||||||||||
| ( Blyth , 1845) |
The eyebrow sparrow ( Gymnoris superciliaris , Syn . : Petronia superciliaris ) is a species of bird from the sparrow family. The species occurs exclusively in Africa.
There are three subspecies. The IUCN classifies the eyebrow sparrow as not endangered ( least concern ).
Appearance
The eyebrow sparrow reaches a height of 15 to 16 centimeters. There is no noticeable sexual dimorphism .
The top of the head is dark brown, the rest of the top of the body is olive brown with a slightly reddish tone. This reddish tone is most intense at the rump. The control springs are dark brown. The pale brownish and very wide stripe above the eyes , which gives it its name , stands out clearly from the rest of the head plumage. The cheeks and sides of the neck are pale olive brown, the chin and throat are olive gray. The chest and flanks are olive gray, the belly is pale gray, the under tail-coverts are gray-white. The eyes are brown, the legs gray-brown.
In the middle of the throat there is a small yellow spot that is characteristic of the genus Gymnoris . In the past, the species of this genus were classified in the genus of stone sparrows ( Petronia ), as the stone sparrow - the only remaining representative of the genus Petronia - has this spot. Molecular genetic studies indicate that there is a purely external similarity.
Young birds are similar to the adult birds, but they still lack the yellow throat patch.
Distribution area and habitat
The eyebrow sparrow is a resident bird of southern Africa. It occurs in Malawi, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the South African Republic, among others. It can be found at altitudes of up to 2000 meters and is a common bird in most of its range. In the South African Republic there is one breeding pair per 20 hectares in original forest areas. Up to 16 eyebrow sparrows per hectare live in the miombo , a large type of forest savannah; it is less common in the mopane forests , where fewer than five individuals per hectare can be found.
The eyebrow sparrow is particularly common in Brachystegia , Baikiaea and Julbernardia forests. It also colonizes shrub savannah in river valleys, areas with higher rainfall and Thornveld in southern Mozambique and the neighboring South African province of KwaZulu-Natal . Occasionally it also occurs in the edge area of agricultural areas, whereby it is particularly common in the vicinity of millet fields . Acacia and conifer plantations are also populated by him.
The eyebrow sparrow is a resident bird in large parts of its range and only roams locally. On the central reaches of the Zambezi , however, eyebrow sparrows migrate from high altitudes to lower altitudes between May and October.
Way of life
The eyebrow sparrow lives individually, in pairs or in small, loose groups. It often looks for food on the ground in the manner typical of sparrows, but can also be observed regularly in trees, where it scans branches, small twigs and tree bark for insects. On the floor he moves around hopping, typical for him is a short, quick twitch of the tail at irregular intervals. He is very shy of people and looks for cover and protection in the treetops when approaching. Occasionally, however, it also comes into gardens and eats at feeding places.
The food spectrum consists of seeds and insects. He also drinks tapinanthus , loranthus and aloes nectar . Captive birds also ate the seeds of Huacatay and the buds of Schkuhria pinnata , a plant in the sunflower family. Nestlings are mainly fed with insects.
The breeding time varies depending on the distribution area. In Zaire it falls in the period from September to November, in Angola and Zambia in the period from August to September, but in Zambia it also breeds in March and April. In South Africa the breeding season extends from August to March, in Namibia, however, eyebrow sparrows brood in January and February.
Eyebrow sparrows build a ball nest with a side entrance. The nesting material is soft, dry grass. The nesting trough is lined with feathers and collected hair, often feathers from guinea fowl and herons are used. The clutch consists of two to five eggs, a clutch size of three eggs is typical. The eggs are creamy white, greenish white or greyish blue with dark spots and blotches. Occasionally the color drawings are so dense that the eggs appear a single color, dark brown. The female breeds alone, the breeding season is 17 days. Feed both parent birds. The nestling period is 18 to 19 days.
Subspecies
The following subspecies are distinguished:
- Gymnoris superciliaris superciliaris ( Blyth , 1845) - The nominate form occurs exclusively in the South African Republic.
- Gymnoris superciliaris rufitergum ( Clancey , 1964) - Occurs from Gabon to Namibia and east to south-west Tanzania and north-west Botswana.
- Gymnoris superciliaris flavigula ( Sundevall , 1850) - Found in the south and south-east of Zambia and Zimbabwe, in bordering Mozambique, in the east of Botswana and in the north of the South African Republic.
- Gymnoris superciliaris bororensis ( Roberts , 1912) - Found in the east of the lowlands of Tanzania, in the south of Malawi and in the east of the Transvaal, as well as in the northeast of Natal and the east of Swaziland.
literature
- C. Hilary Fry and Stuart Keith (Eds.): The Birds of Africa. Volume VII. Christopher Helm, London 2004, ISBN 0-7136-6531-9 .
Web links
- Gymnoris superciliaris inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
Single receipts
- ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Eyebrow Sparrow , accessed on August 14, 2011
- ↑ a b c d Fry et al., P. 46
- ↑ TD Price, DM Hooper, CD Buchanan, US Johansson, DT Tietze, P. Alström, U. Olsson, M. Ghosh-Harihar, F. Ishtiaq, SK Gupta, J. Martens, B. Harr, P. Singh and D Mohan: Niche filling slows the diversification of Himalayan songbirds . In: Nature . tape 509 , 2014, p. 222-225 .
- ↑ JM Fjeldså, M. Irestedt, PGP Ericson and D. Zuccon: The Cinnamon Ibon Hypocryptadius cinnamomeus is a forest canopy sparrow . In: Ibis . tape 152 , 2010, p. 747-760 .
- ↑ a b Fry et al., P. 45