Shelley's crimsonwing (''Cryptospiza shelleyi'') is a vulnerable species of estrildid finch found in

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and western

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. It has shown population decline over the past few decades, with a current population estimate of 2,500–9,999. This is possibly related to uncontrolled

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

Identification

It is a brightly coloured finch found at low levels. It is approximately long. The male Shelley's crimson-wing has bright red crown, face and back, with contrasting black wings and tail, as well as

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

-yellow underparts with warmer tones on flanks and belly. The female is drabber with an olive head and some red on the mantle and rump. Both sexes have bright red bills. Its voice is sharp and high-pitched with ''tit tit tit'' call. Rising and falling series of high-pitched ''tu tutu ti ti ti''.

Habitat

Shelley's crimsonwing inhabits the closed-canopy moist forest, often in lush valley bottoms near water, as well as low secondary growth at forest edges, forest clearings and glades dominated by large herbs, bamboo thickets and the upper forest/moorland

ecotone An ecotone is a transition area between two biological communities, where two communities meet and integrate. It may be narrow or wide, and it may be local (the zone between a field and forest) or regional (the transition between forest and gras ...

. It can be found at some parts of the

Albertine Rift Mountains The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

, including the Itombwe Mountain,

Kahuzi-Biéga National Park The Kahuzi-Biega National Park is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Rwandan border. Established in 1970 by the Belgian photographer and conservat ...

and mountains at the west of Lake Kivu in

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, Nyungwe Forest,

Gishwati Gishwati Forest is a forest in the north-western part of Rwanda, not far from Lake Kivu. It is part of Gishwati–Mukura National Park. The area's forests were largely intact in 1978, and substantial forest cover still remained in 1986. During t ...

, Makwa and Mukura Forest in

, Bururi Forest and elsewhere in

, the Rwenzori Mountains and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in

, as well as the Virunga Mountain. It is generally rare, only being common in a few threatened forests, which shows unexplained fluctuations in abundance.

Conservation measures

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has proposed that researchers investigate declines and fluctuations in Shelley's crimsonwing population, in order to assess threats of extinction. This includes surveying the extent of its habitat. The species is currently being researched in low density areas and of recent there was a very clear sighting of this bird in Ruhijja still part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest as it was seen feeding from the ground for more than 3 minutes before it flew off, including the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nyungwe Forest Reserve in Rwanda, and

Rwenzori Mountains National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park i ...

and

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) is in southwestern Uganda. The park is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and is situated along the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge o ...

in Uganda.

References

External links

Rare Finch Conservation Group official blog

Rare Finch Conservation Group official website
{{Taxonbar, from=Q930263 Shelley's crimsonwing Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Shelley's crimsonwing