Red-billed Fire Finch photographed in Uganda. Photo supplied by Russell Kingston OAM.
Bird, Vidua chalybeata, a parasitic Whydah. Natural breeding seasons vary across their wide range depending on the climates. In captivity, they have been so domesticated that they have lost their instinct for seasonal breeding with the result that they will reproduce at almost any time of the year. In confinement, Red-billed Fire Finches are prolific breeders and will successfully rear fifteen or more youngsters in a single year. A dimorphic species of under 100mm in length, the red body colour of the males may not be confused with the brown females. Both sexes carry fine white spotting on the upper flanks. The male’s brown wings are suffused with red. The red underparts vignette into pale brown or off-white on the belly and ventral region. In both sexes, the mandible is wax red with black
08 BIRD SCENE
along the culmen. Red plumage on the female is restricted to lores, rump and upper tail coverts. Both genders carry a distinctive yellow eye-ring. Fledglings are alike and cannot be determined until they commence colouration. Red-billed Fire Finches are widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Open savannah and lightly wooded areas are preferred habitat, although I have seen them by roadsides and tracks in such high veldt as the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest of Uganda. Mostly, they gather food and socialize on the ground. The diet consists of small cereals and insects. They are opportunistic in that they will avail themselves of human presence, taking discarded or spilled grain and drinking from leaking taps, drains and dams. Because of their propensity to
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