The locust finch or locustfinch (''Paludipasser locustella'') is a species of

waxbill Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "f ...

found in south-central and south-eastern Africa. It is the only species in the genus ''Paludipasser''. It is sometimes placed in the genus ''

Ortygospiza The quailfinch (''Ortygospiza atricollis'') is a species of the estrildid finch. It is found in open grasslands in Africa. They are gregarious seed-eaters with short, thick, red bills. They are very terrestrial, with lark-like feet and claws. ...

''.

Taxonomy

The locust finch was first formally described in 1909 by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

naturalist and

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Sheffield Airey Neave Sheffield Airey Neave Order of St. Michael and St. George, CMG Order of the British Empire, OBE (20 April 1879 – 31 December 1961) was a British naturalist and entomologist. Neave was the grandson of Sheffield Neave, a governor of the Bank of En ...

with the type, a subadl male, being collected at the Upper Luansenshi River, north-east of

Bangweolo Bangweulu — 'where the water sky meets the sky' — is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain.Camerapix: ''Spectrum Guide to Zambia.'' Camerapix Internatio ...

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

, i.e. Zambia. Neave placed in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

genus ''Paludipasser'' within the waxbill

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Estrildidae Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

but it has been placed in the same genus as the

quailfinch The quailfinch (''Ortygospiza atricollis'') is a species of the estrildid finch. It is found in open grasslands in Africa. They are gregarious seed-eaters with short, thick, red bills. They are very terrestrial, with lark-like feet and claws. ...

, ''

''.

Description

The locust finch is similar to the quailfinch but males have a red face, throat and breast with rufous wings and black body with white spots but with a plain back belly. The females also have rufous wings and lack the white face markings of female quailfinches while immatures have black and brown streaks on the upperparts and browner underparts than females. This species has a body which is in length.

Distribution and habitat

The locust finch has been recorded in south-east Cameroon, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo south through Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique this is a rather rare species. There are unconfirmed reports of at least two pairs breeding on the

Jos Plateau The Jos Plateau is a plateau located near the centre of Nigeria. The plateau has given its name to the Plateau State in which it is found and is named for the state's capital, Jos. The plateau is home to people of diverse cultures and languages ...

of northern Nigeria, this would be a very significant range extension for this species. The preferred habitat is damp, thinly vegetated patches within grasslands close to water in sandy spoild areas, like

sandveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

Biology

The locust finch is a terrestrial species and perching is almost unknown. Its preferred habitat as prone to drying out in the dry season and at these times these birds can be nomadic. They are normally encountered in pairs but when drought conditions are severe they can gather in small flock of up to 10 birds. In southern Africa eggs are laid from January to May, i.e. during the rainy season with most egg laying at the height of the rainy season in January and February. This is a difficult species to locate due to its terrestrial habits and tendency to flyy long distances when flushed, like a quail.

Threats

The locust finch was previously listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

. However, due to lack of information, it was suggested that it remains widespread and locally common, and there is no evidence of significant declines. The population of this species may have declined for the past few decades due to a series of droughts in the 1980s. It is threatened by the cage-bird trade and loss of marshland habitat, partly due to dry periods.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25187613

locust finch The locust finch or locustfinch (''Paludipasser locustella'') is a species of waxbill found in south-central and south-eastern Africa. It is the only species in the genus ''Paludipasser''. It is sometimes placed in the genus ''Ortygospiza''. Ta ...

Birds of Central Africa Birds of Southern Africa