Mourning bronze man
| Mourning bronze man | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lonchura tristissima | ||||||||||||
| ( Wallace , 1865) |
The mourning bronze male ( Lonchura tristissima ) is a species of the finch family . The pearl bronze male ( Lonchura tristissima leucosticta ), previously described as a separate species, is now classified as a subspecies of the mourning bronze male.
description
Mourning bronze males reach a body length of 10 centimeters and weigh an average of 8.2 grams. With the nominate form L. t. tristissima , the male on the rear rump and on the front upper tail-coverts is straw yellow. The longer upper tail-coverts, the wings and the tail are brown-black. The dark brown top of the head has yellowish-white shaft marks. The back and the wing covers are brown. The feathers of the large elytra are lighter in the tip part, so that a light transverse band arises in the wing. The underside of the body is blackish-brown and becomes darker in the middle of the abdomen and the lower part of the tail. The females have a transverse undulation on the sides of the chest, which is usually lighter than the males. However, the individual variability in plumage color does not allow a clear gender assignment to be made.
The pearl bronze male ( Lonchura tristissima leucosticta ) differs very clearly from the other five subspecies in its plumage. It has a predominantly ocher-colored to light red-brown plumage. It is named after the short, white lines that are particularly close to the head. They are so condensed over the eye area that they almost create a streak of eyebrows. The two sexes are very similar to each other. However, the male has more bright lines on the throat than the female.
Distribution and way of life
The distribution area of the mourning bronze male is New Guinea and the islands of Karkar and Madang off the northeast coast of New Guinea. The nominate form populates the Vogelkop Peninsula in western New Guinea. The subspecies L. t. hypomelaena occurs from the Wandammen Peninsula to the Weyland Mountains in western New Guinea. The subspecies L. t. calaminoros inhabits the north, the central country and the southeast of New Guinea. L. t. bigilalae populates the Brown River area and the Port Moresby region . Pearl bronze males occur exclusively in southern New Guinea, in the lowlands between the Fly and Noord rivers .
The habitat is high grass stocks in forest clearings and on the edge of the primeval forest, secondary bushes, grass-covered brook banks in the mountains and half-flooded grassy areas in the floodplain of rivers. The height distribution extends to 1,700 meters above sea level. Mourning bronze men mostly live in small groups. They mainly eat grass and bamboo seeds, but animal food also plays a significant role. On the island of Karkar , where insectivorous species are absent, insects even make up the majority of the diet.
The reproductive behavior in the field has not yet been conclusively investigated. According to what we know so far, however, the breeding season falls into the rainy season. The clutch is incubated for 14 days. The nestling period is between 21 and 25 days. The young birds are looked after by the parent birds for two weeks after leaving the nest.
attitude
Only the pearl bronze male plays a slightly larger role in the keeping. They were first imported in 1980 and have been bred regularly since then. Horst Bielfeld succeeded in first breeding in 1981. The offspring caused problems over several generations.
supporting documents
literature
- Horst Bielfeld : Knowing and caring for 300 ornamental birds. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-8001-5737-2 .
- 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 tristissima inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2013.