Sonnenastrild
| Sonnenastrild | ||||||||||||
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Sonnenastrild |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Neochmia phaeton | ||||||||||||
| ( Hombron & Jacquinot , 1851) |
The Sonnenastrild ( Neochmia phaeton ), also known as the sun amadine , is a species from the finch family . The species occurs in northern Australia and New Guinea. There are several subspecies for this species.
Appearance and distribution area
Four different subspecies are assigned to the Sonnenastrild. The nominate form ( Np phaeton ) is widespread from northeastern Western Australia to northwestern Queensland . In this subspecies, the beak as well as the face, the chin, the throat, the chest and the sides of the body, the upper tail-coverts and the upper sides of the tail are colored red. Occasionally, white spots appear on the chest. The crown, neck, back and the wing covers are colored gray.
The other subspecies differ slightly in their body color. As are colored differently most clearly white-bellied Crimson Finch subtypes (designated Np albiventer ) (and p N.. Evang elinae ), both of which have a white to off-white belly. The latter subspecies is the only one that can also be found outside of Australia. It is found in the lowlands of southern New Guinea . The other subspecies, like the nominate form, are native to northern Australia. Np albiventer is only found on the Cape York Peninsula ; N. p. iredalei lives in northeast Queensland.
Way of life
Similar to the rushes , the suns also live near bodies of water and swamps. Of all the fine finches in Northern Australia, this species is most strongly tied to the proximity of water and to relatively dense and high vegetation. Accordingly, it is only widespread in the humid coastal areas of the extreme north of Australia. In the interior of the country, it occurs only on narrow strips of gallery forest along watercourses and the few reed-covered swamps. It has also opened up to human settlement space and occurs on farms and in settlements when these offer open water points. She is not shy of people and tolerates approaches up to a few meters. In New Guinea the species can also be found in rice fields. Otherwise their way of life is very different from that of the rushes. Sun astrilde never breed in colonies and are very aggressive during the breeding season. They show no contact sitting or mutual feathering. Overall, they are less social than other fine finch species and do not form large swarms, but rather, after the breeding season, loose associations of two to three family groups that keep an individual distance of between half a meter and one meter. Their tail movements are striking. Excited sun astrals raise the tail almost to the vertical and then slowly let it fall back. Less excited solar astrals move their tail to the side, in the case of disputes and danger, the tail is also fanned out a little.
The diet consists of grass seeds. Similar to rushes, half-ripe seeds make up a large part of the diet. In the humid habitat of this fine finch they are available for a relatively long time. The seeds are almost exclusively picked from the ears. At the beginning of the breeding season, they also largely eat insects. These are termites, ants, but also beetles and spiders.
Reproduction
The breeding season falls in the second half of the rainy season, i.e. in the months from January to April. In the vicinity of artificial water points, the breeding season can extend into June. Like many other species of fine finch, the male also shows a halmbalz. It hops with a blade of grass in its beak in large jumps and with the female's tail turned towards its partner. Near the female, it hops up and down on the spot with an almost horizontal posture and stiff heel joints and then sings.
The nest is built from long grasses and strips of leaves and bark. The male is very much involved in building the nest. The clutch consists of five to eight eggs that are incubated by both adult birds. The brood is preceded by a time-consuming courtship behavior in which the partners reduce their mutual aggressions.
attitude
Sun astrals were first shown in Europe in 1861 in the zoological garden in London . In 1865 Carl Hagenbeck imported a pair of this type to Germany. Since then, apart from the war and post-war years, it has been in trade almost continuously. However, it is usually only introduced in small numbers. It is now bred very regularly.
supporting documents
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 .
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Neochmia phaeton in the Internet Bird Collection
- Neochmia phaeton inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2013.