Dünnschnabelgirlitz – Wikipedia

The Dünnbabelgirlitz ( Crithagra citrinelloides , His.: Serinus citrinelloides ) is a species of finches from the subfamily of the Stieglitz -like. The species is occasionally kept in Europe as an ornamental bird.

A distinction is made between two subspecies. The IUCN classifies the thin -beak girl as not endangered ( least concern ) a.

The thin -beak girl reaches a body length of twelve to thirteen centimeters. The male is blackish on the top of the body with green -lined springs. The overnight strips are yellow, the face mask grayish to blackish. The throat is lightened with white gray, the bottom of the body is otherwise yellow with a dark strings. The beak runs out pointly. The female is gray -green on the face, the chest and the flanks are yellowish with a gray strings. The calls and vocals of the Dünnschnabelgirlitz are similar to those of the canar girl.

The distribution area of ​​the Dünnschnabelgirlitz is the south of the Sudan as well as Ethiopia and Eritrea. He is a mountain bird that occurs in the high -ries. In Eritrea, he is often locally locally between 2,200 and 2,300 meters at high levels. ^[first] Occasionally it even occurs at high altitudes of up to 2,750 meters. ^[2] It is partly a very common bird and especially regularly found where cosmes and plants from the basket flower genre Aspilia are common.

Its habitats are open bush in the highlands, the edges and clearings of damp forest areas as well as the riparian zones of lakes and rivers. ^[3] He also opened up the human settlement area and occurs in fields and gardens.

The thin -beak girl lives mostly in small to 30 individuals. He mostly searches for his food on the ground. He also picks the seeds from the dried flower heads of Aspilia and cosmes. Sama cleverly frees the beak of her seed cover. In addition to the seeds of basket blossoms, he also eats millet and grass seeds as well as mature berries of cords, certain types of star bushes, converters, the black night shadow and the Peruvian pepper tree. He also picks strawberries, raspberries and grapes and eats the buds and leaves of certain streamlines. Occasionally he also chases flying termites. He also eats ants, beetles, the larvae of grasshoppers and caterpillars. ^[3]

The clutch is incubated by the female for 14 days. During the first breeding days, she still leaves the nest relatively frequently, but with increasing breeding time, however, the brood breaks become increasingly shorter. During this time, the male often brings food, the female begs with trembling wings and picks the food from his beak in small quantities. ^[3] The freshly hatched chicks are struggled almost continuously by the female during the first three days. The male also participates in the feeding of the boys with increasing intensity. The nesting time is 15 to 16 days. The young birds remain in the family association for about four weeks.

A distinction is made between two subspecies:

• the nominatform Crithagra citronelloides citronelloides occurs in the highlands of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
• The subspecies Crithagra citronelloides kikuyensis is common in the highlands of Kenya. The male of this subspecies differs from those of the nominate form by the wider overlight strip. The top of the body is also greener than with the nominate form and has more striking longitudinal strips. The female is a little more brownish.

1. ↑ Fry et al., S. 460
2. ↑ Fry et al., S. 460–461
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Fry et al., S. 462.