Purple tiger
| Purple tiger | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Purpurastrild ( Pyrenestes ostrinus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pyrenestes ostrinus | ||||||||||||
| ( Vieillot , 1805) |
The purple tiger ( Pyrenestes ostrinus ), also called purple weaver or black-bellied purple weaver , is a species from the finch family . No subspecies are described for this species, although the individual populations of the purple tiger differ considerably in their beak size. Experimental crossbreeding experiments have shown, however, that the polymorphism in the beak shape lies on a single gene locus and the allele for large-beakedness is inherited dominantly. Large and small-beaked morphs live next to each other like a mosaic, so that taxonomically they cannot be differentiated as subspecies. However, some authors describe the crimson tiger and the lesser purple tiger as a subspecies of the purple tiger.
description
The Purpurastrild reaches a body length of twelve to fourteen centimeters. The males are scarlet red on the head, neck, chest and tail-coverts. The rest of the plumage is black, with a touch of red on some parts of the body.
In the female, the forehead, crown and sides of the head up to the ear covers as well as the throat and the upper tail covers are red. The rest of the plumage is earth-brown, with individual individuals often showing red feathers on the upper chest and occasionally showing a little red on the sides of the body.
Distribution and way of life
The distribution area of the purple tiger is West and Central Africa. He colonizes grass and bushes of densely overgrown clearings and prefers swampy places. In the savannah he settles in swamps that are overgrown with sedges and surrounded by thick bushes. It is also found in forest remnants and gallery forests. It also colonizes cultivated land of all kinds and occurs in the tree heath up to an altitude of 2,000 meters.
Depending on the beak size, Purpurastrilde eat different seeds. Large-beaked species mainly eat hard seeds from sedge species. Small-beaked forms eat softer shells and grass seeds. Regardless of the size of the beak, berries and leaves are eaten.
The clutch consists of three to five eggs that are incubated by both sexes. The females breed mainly at night and the males during the day. The breeding losses are very high. Of the 60 nests observed in Cameroon , the rate of fledgling was only 15 percent. Losses were mainly due to predation. Predators include spur cuckoos , snakes, and driver ants .
attitude
Purpurastrilde were first shown at London Zoo in 1935 . In 1971 they were imported in large numbers from a Cologne bird shop from Liberia , but purple trildes are still a rarity in the trade. They are only imported occasionally and then in a very small number of individuals. The offspring have only been successful a few times so far. World first breeding was probably achieved in 1986 in the Riverbanks Zoo in South Carolina. Similar to the crimson trilde, purple trilde tend to have a strong growth of the claws. Aviaries that have vertical structures made of reeds, bamboo and papyrus trees help to promote the natural wear and tear of the claws.
supporting documents
literature
- 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
Web link
- Pyrenestes ostrinus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2014.