Hadesnonne
| Hadesnonne | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lonchura stygia | ||||||||||||
| Stresemann , 1934 |
The Hadesnonne ( Lonchura stygia ) is a species from the finch family . No subspecies are distinguished. The species is classified by the IUCN as near threatened because of its small distribution area.
description
The Hadesnonne reaches a body length of eleven centimeters and weighs between ten and twelve grams. The wings of the males are brown-black. The upper tail-coverts are black with golden-yellow tips, the brown-black tail feathers are lined with yellow. The rest of the plumage is shiny black. The eyes are dark and the beak is dark gray.
Females are similar to males, but the top of their bodies is brown-black and lacks the sheen that is characteristic of the plumage of the males.
Distribution area and way of life
The range of the Hadesnonne is extremely small. It occurs only in the Kurik and Merauke area in the lowlands of southern New Guinea . The Hadesnonne colonizes the reed areas and the floating grass islands on the central Fly River . To search for food, however, it also visits the adjacent savannahs and rice fields. There it is occasionally associated with sun astrals and white-headed nuns. The diet consists mainly of semi-ripe seeds. Like many kinds of bronze men , the Hades nun climbs very skilfully up stalks.
The nest is in the grass of the floating islands of the Fly River. The clutch consists of four to five white eggs. Both parent birds participate in the breeding business.
attitude
Like many fine finch species, which are only found in New Guinea, the Hadesnonne was only introduced to Europe very late. The first Hades nuns came to Germany in 1981. The first breeding took place in Switzerland in the same year. Today it is only bred in small numbers.
Systematics
The Hades nun is considered to be closely related to the white-headed nun . The two species occur in the same distribution area and because of a complete correspondence of body dimensions and the sympatric occurrence of the two species, individual authors have classified this species as a melanistic variant of the white-headed nun. However, the differences in youth dress speak against this classification. The young birds of the Hades nun have a significantly lighter plumage than those of the white-headed nun, which speaks against a classification as melanistic mutant.
supporting documents
literature
- Jürgen Nicolai (Ed.), Joachim Steinbacher (Ed.), Renate van den Elzen, Gerhard Hofmann: Prachtfinken - Australia, Oceania, Southeast Asia. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3249-4 .
- Peter Clement , Alan Harris, John Davis: Finches and Sparrows. An Identification Guide. Christopher Helm, London 1993, ISBN 0-7136-8017-2 .
Single receipts
Web links
- Lonchura stygia inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2013.