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Orange-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda melpoda Veterano
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Photo: M. Oberle*
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Orange-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda melpoda Veterano
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Photo: M. Oberle*
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IDENTIFICATION: A small brown finch with a large, orange cheek patch, and a bright red bill and rump. Length: 11 cm. VOICE: Call is an abrupt "jit." Audio (M. Oberle). The song is a series of thin whistled notes. HABITAT: Grasslands and cultivated areas. HABITS: Wags its tail from side to side as it forages for small seeds in tall grass. When not breeding, it travels in small flocks, sometimes with Bronze or Nutmeg Mannikins. Its globular nest has a tubular entrance on the side. The nest is hidden in dense vegetation on the ground and contains 5-6 white eggs. Some nests are placed in odd locations such as between glass panes in an open window. STATUS AND CONSERVATION: Common in the lowlands of Puerto Rico. RANGE: Introduced to Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands (Oahu). Native to Africa from Senegal and Angola, east to Chad and Zambia. This species is thought to have first been introduced via slave trading vessels from Angola in the early 19th Century. Regular places to find this species are the tall grass and marshy edges of the Humacao Nature Reserve and Laguna Cartagena National Wildlife Refuge. TAXONOMY: PASSERIFORMES; ESTRILDIDAE; Estrildinae |
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Photo: M. Oberle*
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Photo: M. Oberle*
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References Biaggi, V. 1963. The first record for Puerto Rico of the nest of the Scarlet-cheeked Weaver Finch. Wilson Bull. 75:91. Camacho Rodríguez, M., J. Chabert Llompart, and M. López Flores. 1999. Guía para la identificación de las aves exóticas establecidas en Puerto Rico. Depto. de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, San Juan, PR. Clement, P., A. Harris, and J. Davis. 1993. Finches and sparrows: an identification guide. Princeton. Moreno, Jorge A. 1997. Review of the subspecific status and origin of introduced finches in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 33(3-4): 233-238. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR. Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton. Raffaele, H.A. and C. B. Kepler. 1992. Earliest records of the recently introduced avifauna of Puerto Rico. Ornitología Caribeña 3:20-29. Serle, W., G.J. Morel, and W. Hartwig. 1977. A field guide to the birds of West Africa. Collins, Glasgow. Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Spanish text Next related species in taxonomic order Previous related species in taxonomic order |