The Chad firefinch or Reichenow's firefinch (''Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

belonging to the firefinch genus ''Lagonosticta'' in the

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family (taxonomy), 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. ...

family Estrildidae. It is restricted to a small area of

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. It was formerly classified as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of Jameson's firefinch (''L. rhodopareia'') but is now often treated as a separate species. Its alternative name commemorates

Anton Reichenow Anton Reichenow (1 August 1847 in Charlottenburg – 6 July 1941 in Hamburg) was a German ornithologist and Herpetology, herpetologist. Reichenow was the son-in-law of Jean Cabanis, and worked at the Natural History Museum, Berlin, Natural Histor ...

, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

who described this species.

Description

It is 10–11 centimetres long. The male is mostly bright pinkish-red, darker on the upperparts. The crown and nape are grey and the vent is dark. The thick, conical

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

is grey and the legs and feet are also grey. Females are similar to males but are slightly duller, paler and browner. Juveniles are brown above and buff below with a pinkish-red rump. The birds have dry, trilling calls. Jameson's firefinch is similar but lacks the grey crown and nape and does not overlap in range. The rock firefinch (''L. sanguinodorsalis'') is also similar but has grey only on the crown and its bill has a pale grey patch at the base of the lower mandible.

Distribution and habitat

The bird is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

East Sudanian Savanna The East Sudanian savanna is a hot, seasonally dry tropical savanna ecoregion of Central and East Africa. Geography The East Sudanian savanna is the eastern half of the Sudanian savanna belt which runs east and west across Africa. The easte ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

. It occurs in south-west

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

where it is fairly common and north-east

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

where it is rare. It inhabits on grasslands, and rocky hillsides in areas of arid

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

with tall grass. Little is known about the behaviour of this species. They breed during the wet season. Pairs of birds feed on seeds on the ground.Payne, R. (2017). Chad Firefinch (''Lagonosticta umbrinodorsalis''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/61148 on 9 March 2017).

References

;Sources * Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davies, John (1993) ''Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide'', Christopher Helm, London. * Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) ''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara'', Struik, Cape Town. {{Taxonbar, from=Q373067 Chad firefinch Birds of Central Africa Fauna of Chad Chad firefinch