Yellow-bellied atrium
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Yellow-bellied asterisk ( Estrilda quartinia ) |
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| Estrilda quartinia | ||||||||||||
| ( Bonaparte , 1850) |
The yellow-bellied asterisk ( Estrilda quartinia ) is a species from the finch family . The taxonomic classification of this species has not yet been conclusively clarified: The yellow-bellied asterisk is occasionally combined with the Grünastrild in one species. There are three subspecies for this species.
description
The yellow-bellied asterisk reaches a body length of nine to ten centimeters. The male is ash gray on the head from the forehead to the upper neck area. At the nape of the neck this turns into olive green. The mantle and the wing covers are olive in color. The rear back and the upper tail-coverts are orange-red. The chin, throat and front sides of the neck are light ash gray, which distinguishes the species from the Grünastrilden, which is plumed black here. The chest is gray, the wings are gray-brown, with many individuals having wings with orange-yellow outer edges. The belly and the under tail-covers are light yellowish. The bill is strikingly two-colored: the upper bill is black, while the lower bill is red. The legs and feet are gray-brown.
The females are similar to the males, but are slightly lighter on the underside of the body.
There are possibilities of confusion with the swamp fawn , among others . This species differs from the yellow-bellied tiger, among other things, in the completely red beak, the brown upper side of the body. The distribution area of the Grünastrild extends to that of the yellow-bellied atrium, but the distribution areas of the two species do not overlap.
Distribution and way of life
The distribution area of the yellow-bellied astrike stretches in East Africa from Eritrea along the African Rift Valley to the east of Zimbabwe . Their habitat is hilly or mountainous terrain. In South Africa they occur at altitudes of 1,800 meters, in Zimbabwe between 300 and 2,300 meters. In Eritrea, their altitude ranges even up to 2,500 meters. You stay in the sparse bush forest, in the cultivated land and on the edge of the mountain forest.
The breeding season varies depending on the distribution area. The courtship has not yet been observed in the field. The nests are built in bushes or small trees and are usually between 1.50 and 5 meters above the ground. The clutch consists of three to six, but mostly four to five eggs.
attitude
Yellow-bellied astride was first imported to Germany by the animal importer Fockelmann in the 1920s. In England they also came on the market several times in the early 1920s and 1930s. Yellow-bellied astrildren have been on the market regularly since 1957, but never in large numbers. They are now regularly bred by a small group of keepers. They are considered very peaceful, but need a densely planted aviary to show their specific behavior.
supporting documents
literature
- C. Hilary Fry , Stuart Keith (Eds.): The Birds of Africa. Volume 7, Christopher Helm, London 2004, ISBN 0-7136-6531-9 .
- Jürgen Nicolai (Ed.), Joachim Steinbacher (Ed.), Renate van den Elzen, Gerhard Hofmann, Claudia Mettke-Hofmann: Prachtfinken - Afrika. Series Handbuch der Vogelpflege, Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8001-4964-3 .
Single receipts
- ↑ Entry on AVIBASE on the yellow-bellied asterisk , accessed on June 18, 2010.
- ↑ Fry et al., P. 274.
- ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 226.
- ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 227.
