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 LC    African Finfoot* Id (Atlas):
    Podica senegalensis

Description (10)
Image of African Finfoot
 

Other Names (World)
African Finfoot, Peters's Finfoot (petersii)

Family
Heliornithidae (Finfoots)

Size
66 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Vieillot, 1817)

Range (Guide)
Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania [United Republic of], Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to Somalia.

Unknown to Guinea-bissau.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 47,000 - 1,200,000 (2010).

Status LC
Habitat degradation from increased river siltation, reduced river flows and pesticide contamination is the main threat.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Secretive. Singly or in pairs.

Food
Invertebrates, spiders, millipedes, crustaceans, small snails, frogs, small fish, snakes. Occasionally vegetation.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (6)...)

 
African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis) [XC721821]
     by Riaan Marais from Blue Crane Route Local Municipality (near Kommadagga), Western District, Eastern Cape, South Africa (call)

 
African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis) [XC827905]
     by id from Viwengi, Kilolo, Iringa Region, Tanzania (uncertain)

Nest
A flat, loose structure of reeds and twigs, located on an overhanging tree limb or on a horizontal branch, placed 1 - 4 m high over water either on a mass of flood debris or fallen branches.

Subspecies
Suggested subdivision of family into two subfamilies places present species in Podicinae alongside Masked Finfoot (Heliopais personatus). Subspecies camerunensis may apparently intermix with senegalensis in southern Cameroon. Birds from Loango coast (extreme north-western Angola) formerly awarded separate subspecies albipectus, being intermediate in size and range, but not reliably separable.

The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

  • senegalensis (Vieillot, 1817)   -  Senegal eastern mainly through forested belt of western Africa to eastern Zaire, Uganda, north-western Tanzania and Ethiopia.
  • somereni Chapin, 1954   -  Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.
  • camerunensis Sjöstedt, 1893   -  Southern Cameroon, Gabon, Congo and northern Zaire.
  • petersii Hartlaub, 1852   -  Angola east to south-eastern Zaire, Zambia and Mozambique, and south to eastern South Africa.



References
See References.


Files:
JPG files for African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis) - 10 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the African Finfoot see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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