Speckle-fronted Weaver
Sporopipes frontalis emini
The head scales ( Sporopipes frontalis) is a species of bird in the family of the weaver birds ( Passeridae ). It comes with three subspecies in dry areas of Africa. Its range extends from Senegal to Ethiopia and northern and central Tanzania. The distribution area is disjoint ( is not related ).
Features
The head shed is a small, sparrow -like, grayish bird which reaches a length from 11.5 to 13 inches. Vertex and forehead are dotted black and white. The neck is brown, the back ash-gray, the underside whitish- gray. The eyes are brown, the bill horn-colored, legs and feet brownish- pink. When the young birds the neck is yellow-brown.
The head can be mistaken for dandruff among other things with the Braunwangenmahali, this differs from dandruff head by a maroon top of the head and ear-coverts chestnut.
Vocalizations
It has several calls, including a " tsip - tsip - tsip - tsip " during the flight, as well as a thin, slightly faster nascent " tsitsitsi tee -tee- tee- teetee - teee ".
Distribution and subspecies
The distribution of the scales condyle extends over large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. It extends from Mauritania to Ethiopia and Eritrea, and south, the Congo Basin omitting, to the central Tanzania. It describes three subspecies, of which p f emini in East Africa, Sudan and Ethiopia appears to northern and central Tanzania.
- S. frontalis f ( Daudin, 1800 )
- F p emini Neumann, 1900
- P f palidior Hartert, 1921
Way of life
Shed head live in bushland and open savannah between 400 and 2000 m altitude, especially in arid areas. They are relatively common in the vicinity of villages. In the Sahel, they are often passed are particularly in areas with acacia trees and toothbrush. They seek their food on the ground and are frequently associated with finches. Their diet consists of seeds, and to a lesser extent small insects. On the ground they move away hopping. Outside the breeding season the birds wander about in small, comprehensive usually five to ten and twenty rare individuals squads.
Reproduction
At hatching they build in low acacia big, messy grass nests that have a veranda -like porch above the entrance. They breed either singly or in small colonies. The breeding pairs are monogamous, in the immediate vicinity of their nests, the female is the more dominant partner bird. The male emerges only in their absence in the nest. Captive male of the pair formation are currently very aggressive and peck male counterparts at the neck and beard strips.
The nest is a ball nest with a side entrance. The outer nest material consisting mostly of dry grass stalks, is only fitted loosely, the actual nest cavity is lined with finer plant material. The nest in the north of its range usually only two eggs, to the south include clutches usually three to four eggs. The eggs are pale gray and have dark spots on. In captive dandruff head brooded only the female. The Baumhopf is one of the species of birds that occasionally invade the nests to eat the eggs.