Firehead Bearded Bird

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Firehead Bearded Bird
Tinkerbird Red-fronted 2010 10 08 16 Alan Manson Ithala GR.jpg

Fire-browed bearded bird ( Pogoniulus pusillus )

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Woodpecker birds (Piciformes)
Family : African bearded birds (Lybiidae)
Genre : Dwarf beards ( Pogoniulus )
Type : Firehead Bearded Bird
Scientific name
Pogoniulus pusillus
( Dumont , 1816)

The red-fronted tinkerbird ( Pogoniulus pusillus ) is a bird art from the family of the African barbets. The species occurs in East Africa and South Africa. Several subspecies are distinguished. The IUCN classifies the fiery-forehead bearded bird as not endangered ( least concern ).

Appearance

Fire-forehead bearded birds are small, compactly built birds that weigh an average of about 10 grams. The males of the nominate form have a wing length between 5.7 and 6.4 centimeters. The tail measures between 3.2 and 3.7 centimeters. The beak length is 1.2 to 1.3 centimeters. Females have similar body measurements. There is no sexual dimorphism .

In males of the nominate form, the base of the beak is surrounded by a thin white and black line. The forehead is red up to the front part, the rest of the top of the head and the nape of the neck are black with fine white dots. The sides of the head are black with three wide black stripes each. The throat is white to yellowish-white. The upper side of the body is black with yellowish-white stripes that are slightly wider towards the rump . The upper tail-coverts are yellow. The control springs are black and have yellowish-white hems. The front breast is greenish-gray to yellowish olive-gray. The beak is black, the featherless region around the eyes is dark brown, the eyes are reddish brown to dark brown. The legs and feet are gray-brown to black-gray. Young birds are similar to the [adult] s, but their plumage is a little duller and there is no red on the forehead.

There is a possibility of confusion with the yellow-spotted bearded bird , which has a distribution area similar to that of the fire-browed bearded bird. However, this species has a dark throat and overall darker plumage. The red-fronted bearded bird is similarly feathered, but significantly larger than the fiery-fronted bearded bird.

Distribution area and habitat

The range of the fire-browed bearded bird is disjoint . The nominate form occurs isolated from the other subspecies from southern Mozambique to the east of the South African Republic . The rest of the distribution area extends from south-east Sudan through Ethiopia and northern Somalia to eastern Uganda , Kenya and south-east Tanzania . The fiery-forehead bearded bird is one of the most common dwarf beards in its distribution area and generally inhabits drier regions. He is a partial migrant who, for example, moves from the highlands to lower-lying regions in Kenya. It inhabits dry forests and bushland, forests along rivers in arid regions, as well as gardens and cultivated land. Its distribution area largely overlaps with that of the yellow tufted dwarf bearded .

Way of life

The fiery-forehead bearded bird lives singly or in pairs. It looks for its food on tree bark and along the branches of bushes. Occasionally he even comes to the ground while searching for food. The food spectrum includes various berries, with the berries of the Loranthus genus playing a role, along with fruits, spiders and beetles. The kernels of the fruit are strangled up again and spat out.

The fiery-forehead bearded bird is a cave-breeder that digs its nesting holes in dead tree branches itself. Reproductive biology has not yet been adequately studied. The breeding season is presumably 12 days, and both parent birds feed the nestlings. The nestling time is estimated at 23 days.

supporting documents

literature

  • Lester L. Short, Jennifer FM Horne: Toucans, Barbets and Honeyguides - Ramphastidae, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-854666-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Short et al., P. 166
  2. ↑ Short et al., P. 165
  3. ↑ Short et al., P. 167
  4. ↑ Short et al., P. 168

Web links

Commons : Firebrained Bearded Bird ( Pogoniulus pusillus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files