Fawn-breasted Waxbill

The Sumpfastrild ( Estrilda paludicola ) is an African species of the family of finches. We distinguish several subtypes of this type.

Description

The Sumpfastrild has a body length of nine to ten centimeters. The male of the Sumpfastrilds has a brownish gray head and neck. On the back of this brownish gray gradually changes into a light olive brown. The rump and upper tail-coverts are bright crimson. The cheeks and ear-coverts are pale gray. The throat and chin are creamy white. The breast and flanks are cream colored yellowish. The under tail-coverts are brownish beige. The beak is red. The legs and feet are dark brown.

The females are similar to males but are paler overall. The young birds are the adult birds also similar, but are brownish on the forehead. The body plumage is dull.

Circulation area and way of life

The Sumpfastrild occur in tropical Africa. You can observe this in front on the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Western Kenya to the west and Tanzania to the interior of the eastern Central African Republic, from southern Sudan and Ethiopia. He is also to be found in northern Zambia and in Angola. It can be distinguished in this large distribution area six subspecies. Five of the subspecies are isolated due to the fragmented distribution range of each other. Only the areas of distribution of the subspecies Estrilda paludicola paliducola and E. p. roseicrissa adjacent to each other.

The habitat of the Sumpfastrilds are high swards and reeds on standing and flowing waters and on the edge of gallery forests. It also occurs in sparse Myrobalan forests and on the outskirts of towns. In Ethiopia he has in front a height distribution up to 1800 meters in altitude and Uganda to 2000 meters in altitude.

Way of life

After the breeding season the Sumpfastrild is associated in flocks that can contain more than thirty individuals. Occasionally, it is associated with Wellenastrilden and orange cheeks. The food of Sumpfastrilde are mainly small seeds. A particularly powerful means of grass seed that picks the Sumpfastrild both from the fruit stalls as also receives from the earth.

The incubation period varies depending on the area of ​​distribution and usually falls in the second half of the rainy season. The courtship has not yet been observed in the field. The nest is a ball nest with side entrance and is built in tufts of grass. As with the related species a rooster nest occasionally on the actual nest built that has the same scope as the actual nest, but is generally a bit fragile. The nest consists of four to five white -shelled eggs. The incubation period has so far been observed only in captive birds and here was 12 to 13 days. The nestlings fledge after an average of 20 days.

System

The Sumpfastrild was made earlier to the orange cheeks. From this taxonomic classification has, however, solved, since the area of ​​distribution of these two species partially overlap and occur unmixed side by side. Some authors of Sumpfastrild with the Anambraastrild is combined to form a superspecies.

Attitude

Sumpfastrilde were allegedly introduced to Europe until 1957: A single Sumpfastrild was discovered among several Orange cheeks, which held the Cologne Zoo. It is not excluded that Sumpfastrilde were previously unrecognized as orange cheeks brought into the trade. To date, Sumpfastrilde reach only sporadically in the bird trade and missing for years completely. They are bred by a small group of holders.