- Swee Waxbill
Taxobox
name = Swee Waxbill
image width = 250px
image caption = "E. m. melanotis"
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Passeriformes
familia =Estrildidae
genus = "Estrilda "
species = "E. melanotis"
binomial = "Estrilda melanotis"
binomial_authority = (Temminck, 1823)The Swee Waxbill "Estrilda melanotis" also known as Yellow-bellied Waxbill is a common species of
estrildid finch found in of Sub-Saharan Africa.It breeds in
Angola ,Benin ,The Democratic Republic of the Congo ,Eritrea ,Ethiopia ,Chad ,Kenya ,Lesotho ,Malawi ,Mozambique ,Namibia ,Rwanda ,South Africa ,Sudan ,Swaziland ,Tanzania ,Uganda ,Zambia andZimbabwe . It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 380,000 km².Description and subspecies
The Swee Waxbill is 9-10 cm long with a grey head and breast, pale yellow belly, olive back and wings, red lower back and rump, and a black tail. The upper mandible is black and the lower red. The male has a black face, but the female's face is grey. Juveniles are much duller than the female and have an all-black bill.
There are four subspecies. "E. m. quartinia" of the east African mountains has a much brighter yellow belly than nominate "E. m. melanotis", and was formerly separated as East African Swee or Yellow-bellied Waxbill "E. m. quartinia", but is now usually lumped with "Estrilda melanotis" following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
Habitat and Behavior
The Swee Waxbill is typically found in uplands in dry shrubland and open forest habitats. Some subspecies are also occur in lowlands, and may be seen in large gardens.
This species is a common and tame bird typically seen in small parties, and does not form large flocks. The Swee Waxbill's call typically considered a soft "swee, swee".
References
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=8648&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* Clement, Harris and Davis, "Finches and Sparrows" ISBN 0-7136-8017-2
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