Magnificent finches

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Magnificent finches
Dornastrild (Neochmia temporalis)

Dornastrild ( Neochmia temporalis )

Systematics
Subclass : New-jawed birds (Neognathae)
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
without rank: Passerida
Superfamily : Passeroidea
Family : Magnificent finches
Scientific name
Estrildidae
Illiger , 1811

The fine finches (Estrildidae) are a species-rich family from the order of the passerine birds (Passeriformes). Some species, such as the zebra finch, are very popular with ornamental bird owners and breeders because of their colorful, magnificent plumage. Depending on the classification, between 135 and 140 species are assigned to this family, which are classified into 33 to 35 genera .

Appearance

When fully grown, magnificent finches reach a body length between eight and 17 centimeters. One of the largest species is the pointed tail amadine , which only attains this length because of its long tail skewers. Most species reach a height of eleven to 13 centimeters.

Most species of fine finch have pointed beaks and a wedge-shaped tail. However, their beaks can sometimes be used to identify food specialties. The species that mainly live on insects show longer and thinner beaks than the species that live mainly on seeds . All finches have a very low body weight, which enables them to sit on blades of grass while eating.

In most species of fine finches, males and females do not show any pronounced sexual dimorphism . Females sometimes have duller plumage, but males can only be clearly identified by their singing. One of the species that is an exception to this is the tiger tiger , in which the male has a reddish body plumage, while the female has predominantly gray-brown plumage. The tiger's tiger is also the only species of fine finch in which the male changes annually from his red breeding dress to the simple gray-brown plumage that the female wears.

Distribution area

Fine finches have their natural range in the very warm zones of Australia , Africa and Asia . 78 species live on the African continent south of the Sahara and Madagascar . Another 43 species live in the Australasian region and on some Pacific islands. 19 species occur in the Indomalay region in between.

Black-bellied nun

Some species have been introduced into other regions by humans. An extreme example is the rice finch , which was originally only found in Java , Bali and Bawean and is now a rare species there. Today it is native to many tropical countries and comes, among others, in Calcutta , Madras , Hong Kong , Miami and Bangkok , on Sumatra , Hawaii , the Moluccas , Malaysia including Singapore , on the Fiji Islands Viti Levu and Vanua Levu , in the Philippines , in southern Indochina and Taiwan . Populations also live on the East African coast and on Zanzibar and St. Helena . In New Guinea, the thick-billed nuns , gray-headed nuns , splendid nuns , brown-breasted nuns and mourning bronze males , who actually live in the lowlands of New Guinea, penetrate the heights of this island as cultural successors and displace, among other things, the endangered Arfaknonne , one of the rarest species of splendid finches.

A species of fine finch has also lived in Europe as a neozoon since the 1980s . In the Italian Tuscany one can observe flocks of tiger finches in reed wetlands since the 1980s .

habitat

Most species of the fine finch inhabit steppes , savannahs , the edge regions of forests and fields and pastures interspersed with shrubbery. A few species also live in the semi-desert; This information can include the colorful Gouldian and two species from the genus of poephila . Some other species such as the rush and the sun astril also inhabit reed , papyrus or rush thickets . The Hadesnonne , which is an endangered species because of its small range, prefers to breed on the floating grass islands of the middle Fly River , one of the longest rivers in New Guinea .

Forest-dwelling species are rare among the fine finches. Likewise, only a few species, such as the quail deer and the grasshopper deer, occur in regions completely without trees and shrubbery. It is typical for these species that they rarely fly up and disappear into the next grass thicket when in danger. The food, which consists mainly of grass seeds and small insects, is almost exclusively picked up from the ground by these species or picked from hanging panicles.

Way of life

Nest of the black-headed nun

Most of the magnificent finches only move forward on the ground by hopping and, at best, hopping like a polka step, touching the ground with both feet one after the other. The exception to this are the quail tribe , which are the most distinctive ground birds among the magnificent finches. They show a corresponding number of behaviors that are adapted to life on the ground. They can run almost like a chicken.

Many species of fine finch show a great need to socialize. In the case of pearl-necked samadines kept in human care, it has been observed that several adult birds often spend the night together in one nest. This behavior has on other species such as the Dornamadine and nutmeg Munia found. While these species only show this behavior outside of the breeding season, the need to socialize in the pearl-necked samadine often goes so far that even the breeding nest is not defended against other species. Investigations on the little lesser lark , which basically show a less pronounced social behavior than the aforementioned species, have shown that family relationships are decisive for social behavior. Swarms of unrelated species break up at the start of the breeding season, because conspecifics without family ties break through unhindered. The situation is different with the not yet sexually mature offspring of a pair of little elster. They help build the brood nest and feed their younger siblings. You are allowed to approach them without causing aggressive reactions in the parent birds.

Contact sitting and social plumage care are also typical of many species. In the case of the African silver beak, birds looking for contact always fly at a distance of about fifteen centimeters to the location of the contact partner, tripping sideways towards this conspecific in an upright posture and turning their beak towards them. The already seated bird does not leave its seat, but just sits up a little. When the incoming bird gets closer, a beak fight occurs between the two birds, during which the birds move closer together. Only when the upright posture is given up does the beak fight change into mutual feathering.

food

In most species, the diet consists of seeds and insects . Some species such as the grasshopper astrong apparently need particularly fine grass seeds; other species also eat larger seeds like rice and corn. Only the leek-green parrot finch lives exclusively on seeds; most species require insects mainly during the rearing season.

Reproduction

Revenge drawing of a young bird of Ringelastrilde

Fine finches usually nest in often thorny bushes, a few species in tall grass or in tall trees. Some species build their nests as lodgers in bird of prey nests, in termite mounds or, as a follower of culture , near or in houses, for example under tiles and in crevices. In some species, both partners collect the nesting material, in others only the male. In the latter case, the nest is then built by the female. The nests are spherical or elongated, often with a short tube at the entrance. The red-eared amadine has a particularly stable nest which, including the entrance tube, can be up to forty centimeters long . It is built from up to 2,000 individual parts, with the male bringing the material and the female installing it. The particularly careful and robust construction of the red-eared amadine nest is an adaptation to the exposed location. Red-eared amadines breed high above the ground at heights between eight and thirty meters. They usually build their nests in the terminal branches of eucalyptus trees, which are particularly exposed to storms.

When the nest is ready, the female lays one egg a day until all four to six eggs are laid. They are white. The eggs are incubated by both partners, at night only by the female, even if the male is also in the nest. The young generally hatch at short intervals after 11 to 16 days. They are raised by both parents and farmed for 9 to 12 days. The nestlings initially have black beaks and a colorful throat drawing that encourages the parents to feed. When begging, they turn their heads to the side. The parents do not remove the boy's faeces. After about three weeks, the young fledglings and leave the nest, but are still fed by their parents for a few days.

Paradise finches and widow birds

Some species of finches are the breeding birds of viduidae that are similar to the European cuckoo brood parasites are. Widow birds are a family closely related to the weaver birds . In contrast to the cuckoo, a hatching widow bird does not throw the eggs and the young of its host bird family out of the nest, but grows up with them.

Many species of widow bird specialize in one species of finch. However, some widows also parasitize two or three closely related species of finches. The adaptation goes very far; the eggs are largely similar to the finch eggs and are only slightly larger. The young birds resemble those of the magnificent finches in their plumage and throat markings. They also show the same begging movements and sounds. In most species of widow bird, the male birds learn the song of their host birds and also use it in their own courtship. Only in the Dominican , the shaft and black-rumped waxbill uses, as a breeding host and gloss widow that their young by elf and Feenastrilde can raise, you can not obtain similarities to the song of the breeding birds seen.

Endangerment of individual finch species

The population situation of the individual finches is very different. Common finches , for example, are among the species that appear to have benefited in their populations from the man-made watering holes in the Australian desert. The Gouldian finch , which shares the habitat of the eucalyptus desert with two species of grass finch, is, however, strongly threatened by the increased use of pasture in its habitat. The black-fronted parrot finch , which is endemic to one of the Fiji islands , is also considered threatened . It is one of the fine finch species that live in forests and 50 percent of its habitat on the island of Viti Levu has now been destroyed. The black reins have not been sighted since 1950. The IUCN lists it in the “ data deficient ” category , as further studies are necessary to clarify its status as a valid species, its population status and its distribution. The Anambraa has a very small range and the population is estimated to be less than 1,000 individuals. The species is therefore classified as endangered by the IUCN. The IUCN classifies the Olivastrild as endangered because of its relatively limited range and the rapidly decreasing population as a result of the bird trade, but also because of the severe destruction of its habitat. The Shelleys Bergastrild is also classified as endangered. Its range is limited to the Albertine Rift and it is a rare species of bird in most of its range. It is often only found in the forests of Burundi and Rwanda, which are all threatened by deforestation.

Fine finches and humans

Japanese gull, the domesticated form of the bronze pointed-tail male

Fine finches have been popular as pet birds in China and Japan for centuries . The pointed-tail bronze male is one of the oldest exotic housebirds in Europe. It is one of the first exotic species to be introduced from overseas and was kept in Europe as early as the 17th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was imported in large numbers and as early as 1772 the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon published an overview of the various forms. In the 19th century, individual subspecies were already being differentiated, and some of them were granted an independent species status. The most frequently introduced subspecies include the white rump bronze male ( L. s. Striata ) and the actual pointed-tail bronze male, the subspecies L. s. acuticauda . The Japanese gull is the domesticated form of the pointed-tail bronze male. As far as we know today, it was bred in China several hundred years ago and is one of the oldest housebirds in humans. It was probably bred from the Chinese subspecies Lonchura striata swinhoei . The exact start of domestication of this species is unknown. It is certain, however, that the gull reached Japan as early as the 18th century and was kept and bred there in large numbers. Since it has changed little since then, it is concluded that it was already heavily domesticated at that time.

All species of the bluestrilde belong to the ornamental bird species, some of which have been kept for a very long time. The first pomegranate to be introduced to Europe was given to Madame de Pompadour in 1754 and cared for by her for over three years. The particularly popular species include the golden breast and the zebra finch . The zebra finch, which weighs only 12 grams and is easy to breed, is also widely used in research .

Some species of fine finches that swarm into grain and rice fields are also considered agricultural pests in their home areas. In southern India, for example, are Indian euodice , Scaly-Breasted Munia , Tricoloured Munia , White-Rumped Munia and White-bellied Munia as a pest that cause particular millet and rice fields damaged.

Genera and species

Kappenastrild
Black-headed nun
Wellenastrild
Butterfly finch
Wellenastrild
( Estrilda astrild )
Veilchenastrild
( Uraeginthus ianthinogaster )
Jameson's Firefinch
( Lagonosticta rhodopareia )
Nutmeg bronze male
( Lonchura punctulata )
Pointed-tail bronze male
( Lonchura acuticauda )
Diamond finch
( Stagonopleura guttata )
Ringelastrild
( Stizoptera bichenovii )
Gouldian finches
( Chloebia gouldiae )
Common rush
( Neochmia ruficauda )
Dornastrild
( Neochmia temporalis )
Tiger Fink
( Amandava amandava )
Zebra finch
( Taeniopygia guttata )

The International Ornithological Union and the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) currently (2018) list 141 species in 33 genera, which the HBW divides into two subfamilies.

Subfamily Estrildinae

Subfamily Lonchurinae

supporting documents

literature

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 205
  2. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 205 and p. 206
  3. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 269
  4. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 269 and p. 270
  5. ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 304
  6. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 339
  7. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 369
  8. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 368
  9. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 335
  10. ↑ Nicoalai et al. (2001), p. 31
  11. ↑ Birdlife species factsheet on the black grouse , accessed on June 18, 2010
  12. ↑ BirdLife factsheet on the Anambraastrild , accessed on July 18, 2010
  13. ↑ BirdLife Factsheet on the Olivastrild , accessed June 19, 2010
  14. ↑ Fry et al., P. 278
  15. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 299
  16. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 302
  17. ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 199
  18. ↑ Nicolai et al. (2001), p. 328
  19. ↑ Frank Gill & David Donsker, IOC World Bird List v 8.2  : Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits
  20. ↑ Our Taxonomy . In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, DA Christie & E. de Juana, E. (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona ( hbw.com [accessed August 28, 2018]).
  21. ↑ Nicolai et al., P. 309

Web links

Commons : Prachtfinken  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Prachtfink  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations