Grey-headed Silverbill

Grey-headed Silverbill
Grey-headed Silverbill
Taken in Serengeti National Park
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Lonchura
Species: L. griseicapilla
Binomial name
Lonchura griseicapilla
(Delacour, 1943)

The Grey-headed Silverbill (Lonchura griseicapilla), also known as Peal-headed Mannikin, is a species of estrildid finch found in eastern Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Tanzania. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 400,000 km². It is sometimes placed in the genus Odontospiza as Odontospiza griseicapilla.

Contents

Characteristics

Identification

The Grey-headed Silverbill is a stocky bird with a grey head studded with white dots. Its body is greyish-brown with partly black wings and tail and a white rump. The juvenile can be told by its white rump.

Adult male is approximately 11.5 cm in length with wing length 6.5 cm.

Habitat

The Grey-headed Silverbill is commonly found in dry savanna habitat but never too far away from water.

Behavior

The Grey-headed Silverbill is gregarious, moving in small flocks and often mixing with African Silverbill.

Food

The Grey-headed Silverbill feeds mostly on grass seeds. But it has been suggested that the species also feed on insects which are more a source of moisture than dry seeds.

Movement

The Grey-headed Silverbill wanders widely, influenced by weather and shifting availability of sources of water.

Origin

Origin and phylogeny has been obtained by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et al.[1] Estrildinae may have originated in India and dispersed thereafter (towards Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats).

References

  1. ^ Arnaiz-Villena, A; Ruiz-del-Valle V, Gomez-Prieto P, Reguera R, Parga-Lozano C, Serrano-Vela I (2009). "Estrildinae Finches (Aves, Passeriformes) from Africa, South Asia and Australia: a Molecular Phylogeographic Study". The Open Ornithology Journal 2: 29–36. http://chopo.pntic.mec.es/biolmol/publicaciones/Estrildinae_finches_2009.pdf. 
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