Gray headed elster

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Gray headed elster
Taken in Serengeti National Park

Taken in Serengeti National Park

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Fine finches (Estrildidae)
Subfamily : Lonchurinae
Genre : Odontospiza
Type : Gray headed elster
Scientific name of the  genus
Odontospiza
Oberholser , 1905
Scientific name of the  species
Odontospiza griseicapilla
( Delacour , 1943)

The gray-headed elster ( Odontospiza griseicapilla , Syn .: Lonchura griseicapilla ), also called gray- headed silver beak , gray-headed silver beak , gray-headed magpie or pearl - necked samadine , is a species from the finch family . It is native to East Africa. Today it is placed in the monotypical genus Odontospiza . It used to be the only species in the genus Odontospiza initially under the name Odontospiza caniceps . When it was later assigned to the bronze males , the species name had to be changed, as there is already a species in the Lonchura genus that bears the name Lonchura caniceps : the gray-headed nun . The epithet remained with the renewed assignment to the genus Odontospiza received. Another earlier name is Spermestes caniceps .

The species is monotypical , no subspecies are distinguished.

Appearance

Gray headed lobsters reach a body length of 12 centimeters and weigh on average 11.5 grams. Their plumage on the head, throat and neck is silver gray. The eponymous white pearl pattern appears on the forehead, cheeks and chin. The plumage on the back, breast and on the wing covers is of a reddish brown, the rump is white. The goiter area, chest and sides of the body are cinnamon brown with a tinge of wine red. On the belly side, the shade of brown lightens in the direction of the tail, so that the under tail-coverts are cream-colored, the tail is blackish. The eyes are brown, the beak is lead colored.

The young birds are duller in color. With them, the gray of the head is tinged with brownish, the lower body is lighter and more yellowish. The sides of the head and the front throat do not yet have the white pearl markings that are characteristic of adult birds. The throat drawing of the young birds is similar to that of the giant elster .

habitat

Their habitat in East Africa encompasses the area from the south-easternmost Sudan through southern Ethiopia to Tanzania and Kenya . She lives there mainly in thorn bush savannahs, in which there must be small trees and dense bushes as well as water points nearby. It avoids arid regions where the amount of precipitation is less than 250 millimeters. During the breeding season it can be found at altitudes between 100 and 1,650 meters. Outside the breeding season, it also nomadizes in drier areas and then reaches altitudes of up to 2,000 meters above sea level.

The food of the gray-headed elster consists mainly of grass seeds and the seeds of herbaceous plants. It also takes in insects and insects during the breeding season.

She prefers to build her extensive nest, which is characterized by a long entrance tube, in thorn bushes. The clutch usually consists of four to five white eggs. The breeding season is thirteen to fifteen days, with both parent birds involved in the breeding business.

Systematics

The gray-headed elster is closely related to the magpie and the pheasant . It is also assumed that the bronze males and nuns developed from these species .

attitude

Gray-headed elsters were first introduced to Europe in 1929 and 1930. A large number of gray-headed elster did not reach Switzerland until 1961 and was sold from there to keepers in various European countries. The species has been introduced regularly since around 1980, albeit in small numbers. It is now a very valued aviary bird because it is an extremely peace-loving species that is suitable for community keeping. The gray-headed elster is not suitable for cage. She tends to be indolent here.

swell

literature

  • Horst Bielfeld : The finch book. All species, their keeping, care and breeding. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8001-7327-1 .
  • 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 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 337.
  2. ↑ a b Terry Stevenson, John Fanshawe: Birds of East Africa. Christopher Helm Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-0713673470 , p. 556.
  3. ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 338.
  4. ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 338 and p. 339.

Web links

Commons : Gray headed elk ( Odontospiza caniceps )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files