Orange-winged Pytilia 112ND500 DSC0430-1

The orange-winged pytilia (''Pytilia afra''), also known as the golden-backed pytilia, is a species of

estrildid finch 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 ...

found in Africa. It has a wide range and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 assessed it as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Taxonomy

This species was described as ''Fringilla afra'' by

J. F. Gmelin , fields = , workplaces = University of GöttingenUniversity of Tübingen , alma_mater = University of Tübingen , doctoral_advisor = Philipp Friedrich GmelinFerdinand Christoph Oetinger , academic_advisors = , doctora ...

in 1789. It is

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 ...

Description

The orange-winged pytilia is long and weighs . The male's forehead, face and chin are red, and its crown and nape are grey. Its back is green, with an olive tinge. Its greater

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

are orange, and its primary coverts and

flight feather Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

s are blackish-brown, with orange edges. Its rump is crimson. The outer webs of its tail are red, and the inner webs are brown. Its throat and upper breast are pale grey, and its breast is olive. There are off-white bars on its breast and belly. Its legs are pale pink or pinkish-brown. Its eyes are orange or red, and its beak is red. The female has a greyish head, with no red. Its back and wings are duller than the male, and the bars on its underparts are broader. The immature bird is like the female, but is drabber.

Distribution and habitat

This pytilia is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of . Its habitat is edges of forests,

miombo woodland The Miombo woodland is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome (in the World Wide Fund for Nature scheme) located primarily in Central Africa. It includes four woodland savanna ecoregions (listed below) characterized b ...

and wooded grasslands, usually in moist areas. It is found at elevations up to above sea level.

Behaviour and ecology

The orange-winged pytilia is found in small flocks, and can form larger, looser flocks when it is not breeding. It feeds on the ground, eating seeds and probably also insects. In the non-breeding season, it can move great distances to find food. Its call is ''seee'', and its song is quickly repeated whistles. The orange-winged pytilia is

parasitised Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

by the broad-tailed paradise whydah, which mimics its call. The orange-winged pytilia's breeding season is April to May in the southeastern

Congo Basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

, January to May in Zambia and Zimbabwe, March to June in Malawi, and April to June in Tanzania. The eggs weigh approximately , and those of the brood parasite weigh about 15% more, at . The pytilia's incubation period is 12 to 13 days, and the nestling period is 21 days.

Status

Because the species has a large range and a stable population trend, 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 classified the species as being of

. It may be captured and used as caged birds.

References

External links

BirdLife International species factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q220191

orange-winged pytilia The orange-winged pytilia (''Pytilia afra''), also known as the golden-backed pytilia, is a species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of least ...

Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds of Southern Africa