Two-tone blackness
| Two-tone blackness | ||||||||||||
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Bicolor black ( Nigrita bicolor ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Nigrita bicolor | ||||||||||||
| ( Hartlaub , 1844) |
The two-colored blackling ( Nigrita bicolor ) is an African songbird from the finch family . It is a shy and inconspicuous, forest-dwelling species of blackwing , which is usually first noticed by its song.
Several subspecies are distinguished. The IUCN classifies the two-color black body as not endangered ( least concern ).
Appearance
With a length of 11 to 12 centimeters, the two-color black body is about the size of a blue tit . The top, including the headstock and neck, is dark slate gray, tinged slightly brown in some places and darkens to black on the tail. The front half of the face, the area above the eye and the cheeks and the entire underside are dark maroon. The beak is black, the eyes red to reddish brown. The feet are dark brown.
Sexual dimorphism is usually not pronounced. Sometimes the females are lighter on the underside and the chestnut red is less extensive on the forehead.
Young birds are colorless brown to olive-brown on the top, lighter yellowish brown on the underside. Later, the chestnut brown plumage of the adult birds comes through irregularly on the underside. The large plumage is already colored like that of the adult birds. The beak is dark gray to blackish.
Possible confusion
The two-tone black dog differs from the red- forehead ant-picker by the shorter beak and the dull red underside of the body and the lack of red forehead. They are darker than the bronze male fledglings with more gray-brown plumage, a smaller beak and black rudder feathers.
voice
The call of the two -tone black man is a plaintive chi-chi-huu . The singing, a deep kiu-kiu-wi-wi-wi , is similar in sound and is often performed from the treetops.
Distribution and existence
The distribution of the species is limited to the tropical rainforest belt in western Africa. It extends from the extreme southwest of Senegal and the west of the Gambia westward to Uganda and into eastern Kenya . The northern limit of distribution runs through the south of the West African coastal states, through the Central African Republic and the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . To the south, the area includes the island of Príncipe and extends into north-western Angola .
Since the species is described as common in many areas of the distribution area, it is not considered threatened.
Geographic variation
A distinction is made between two subspecies, of which the eastern brunnescens is somewhat larger, less strong on the top and more brownish on the underside than the nominate form.
- N. b. biculor ( Hartlaub 1844) - eastwards approximately to Ghana
- N. b. brunnenescens ( Reichenow 1902) - from Princípe and southern Nigeria westward
A third subspecies described by Reichenow saturatior from the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in which the males are darker and stronger, the females are lighter on the underside, is usually no longer recognized today and such specimens are attributed to brunnescens .
Way of life
The two-tone blackling is very common in West Africa and quite common in places. It colonizes forests, clearings and forest edges in the tropical rainforest and in secondary forests. It can also be found in the cultivated landscape in wooded areas and trees. It also occurs in dense bushland and mangrove forests with a lot of undergrowth. It is mainly to be found in the thick layer of bushes and lives there quite hidden. It feeds mainly on insects and their larvae (e.g. small caterpillars) as well as seeds, shells of nuts, fruits and occasionally frog spawn.
During the breeding season it lives in pairs, otherwise it often roams around in small groups and also socializes with the pale-forehead blackening ( N. luteifrons ) and the gray- necked blackling ( N. canicapilla ). The breeding time varies depending on the distribution area. The nest is a ball nest with a side entrance. It is built from dry blades of grass, stems and leaves and covered with moss and stalks. The nest is between one and 25 meters above the ground and is hidden in thick foliage. The clutch consists of two to five oval, white-shelled eggs.
attitude
Two-tone blacks were first imported to Europe at the beginning of the 1930s, together with coat blacks and gray necked blacks , and then kept in the London Zoo . After that, this bird species came to Europe only sporadically for decades. The reason is probably the wrong feeding of this primarily insectivorous species during transport. It was not until the 1980s and 1990s that two-color blacks were imported in large numbers. The first breeding in captivity took place in 1989.
supporting documents
literature
- P. Clement, A. Harris, J. Davis: Finches and Sparrows , Helm Identification Guides, London 1993/1999, ISBN 0-7136-5203-9
- C. Hilary Fry and Stuart Keith (Eds.): The Birds of Africa. Volume VII. Christopher Helm, London 2004, ISBN 0-7136-6531-9 .
- J. Nicolai (ed.), G. Hofmann, C. Mettke-Hofmann, J. Steinbacher (ed.), R. van den Elzen: Handbuch der Vogelpflege - Prachtfinken Afrika , E. Ulmer, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3 -8001-4964-3 (p. 33 f)
Web links
- Factsheet at BirdLife International
- Nigrita bicolor in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on 7 April of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Nigrita bicolor in the Internet Bird Collection