Black-cheeked astryld , or elf astryld [1] ( lat. Estrilda erythronotos ) is a bird of the family of finch weavers of the passe - like order.
| Black-cheeked astryld |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
| Infrastructure : | Passerida |
| View: | Black-cheeked astryld |
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| International scientific name |
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Estrilda erythronotos ( Vieillot , 1817 ) |
| Security status |
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Least concernIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22719604 |
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Content
The body length is 12.5 cm. The crown and back of the birds of the main (nominative) form are ash-gray with narrow transverse stripes on the head and extending downwards. Nadhvoste and upper tail tails are bright red, under tail tails and black tail. The bridle, beard and strip above the eye are black, the cheeks and ear coverts are silver-gray. The throat and chest are light gray with inconspicuous small transverse stripes. The middle of the abdomen is dark red in color, the large covering wings are light gray to white with wide black transverse stripes, the flight is dark brown. Bill is black with a bluish-white base, legs are black. The female and male are painted the same.
In addition to the main form, there are two more. The birds of one of them have a lighter plumage and an intense reddish tint on the upper body, the birds of the other have a brighter plumage on the sides, a greater contrast of the bands on the back and a more intense bright red nadkhvostya than in birds of the nominative form.
They live in Eastern and Southern Africa .
Inhabit the dry places of lowlands and mountain areas to a height of 1500 m above sea level. seas. During nesting live in pairs, the rest of the time they gather in small flocks, not exceeding a dozen individuals. Elf astrildy very shy and at the slightest anxiety hiding in the bushes. Very fond of swimming. They feed on small grass seeds and small caterpillars , and during the flowering of acacias - also their flowers. In flight, the male makes melodious sounds of "Tyuyuy-Tyuyuy".
During tokovanija the male and the female low bow to each other, taking out beaks up to the ground, and, having opened with a fan tails, turn them in different directions. In conclusion, the male and female sing a sonorous, flute song. Spherical- shaped nests with a long winding tube, directed perpendicularly downwards, are built from dry and green grass. In laying 2-4 eggs. Hatching lasts 12 days.
In Europe, these astrildy appeared only in 1908 .
- Estrilda erythronotos erythronotos (Vieillot, 1817)
- Estrilda erythronotos soligena ( Clancey )
- Estrilda erythronotos delamerei ( Sharpe , 1900 )
- ↑ Boehme RL , Flint V. Ye. The five-language dictionary of animal names. Birds. Latin, Russian, English, German, French / Under total. ed. Acad. V.E. Sokolova . - M .: Rus. lang, "RUSSO", 1994. - p. 442. - 2030 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00643-0 .
- Zherdev, E. S. The Feathered Rainbow: A Reference Manual. - M .: Forest industry, 1988. - p. 79-82 ISBN 5-7120-0084-9
