African Quailfinch © animal.photos

Vagrant to Niger, Somalia.

Subspecies often treated as comprising two or three separate species, one consisting of nominate subspecies, ansorgei and ugandae, one comprising black-chinned subspecies gabonensis, fuscata and dorsostriata, and one containing white-spectacled fuscocrissa, muelleri, digressa, smithersi and pallida. Such treatment supported by studies of mitochondrial genes, which indicate that these groups form three separate clades, with "gabonensis group" and "fuscocrissa group" more closely related to each other than either is to "atricollis group". On other hand, subspecies intergrade in facial pattern, and groups do not form genetically monophyletic lineages, do not differ in vocalizations, in bill colour when breeding, or in nestling mouth markings and colours. Treatment as a single species considered preferable, pending further study. Proposed subspecies minuscula (described from upper Zambezi at Balovale, in Zambia), intermediate in plumage between fuscata and muelleri, and bradfieldi (from Okahandja, in Namibia), mostly paler than latter, are both synonymized with muelleri.

The following 11 subspecies are recognised:

• atricollis (Vieillot, 1817)   -  Southern Mauritania, Senegal (except Casamance) and southern Mali east to Nigeria, south-western Chad and Cameroon.
• ansorgei Ogilvie-Grant, 1910   -  South-western Gambia, southern Senegal (Casamance), Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone east, discontinuously, along coast to Togo.
• ugandae van Someren, 1921   -  Southern Sudan, Uganda and western Kenya.
• fuscocrissa Heuglin, 1863   -  Eritrea and Ethiopia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa). Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa).
• gabonensis Lynes, 1914   -  Gabon east to central DRCongo. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black-chinned Quailfinch (Ortygospiza gabonensis).
• fuscata Sclater, WL, 1932   -  Northern Angola, southern DRCongo and north-western Zambia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Black-chinned Quailfinch (Ortygospiza gabonensis).
• dorsostriata van Someren, 1921   -  Eastern DRCongo east to southern and western Uganda. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Black-chinned Quailfinch (Ortygospiza gabonensis).
• muelleri Zedlitz, 1911   -  Southern Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Namibia and Botswana. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa).
• smithersi Benson, 1955   -  North-eastern Zambia. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa).
• pallida Roberts, 1932   -  Northern Botswana. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa).
• digressa Clancey, 1958   -  Eastern Zimbabwe, southern Mozambique and north, eastern and south-western South Africa. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of African Quailfinch (Ortygospiza fuscocrissa).

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BirdLife International For more information about the African Quailfinch see... BirdLife International Species Factsheet. Articles about the African Quailfinch If you would like to read any articles about the African Quailfinch... Show Articles (0) No Pictures of African Quailfinch If Birdpedia has no pictures of African Quailfinch or you would like to see more, then try the following...       From BING (10) No Videos of African Quailfinch If Birdpedia has no videos of African Quailfinch or you would like to see more, then try the following..       From BING (0) Where can I observe this species? Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded. Area   DJIBOUTI   All    Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location. Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.   Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          N S or   GPS help Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          E W or   Find GPS using Google Maps Distance Bearing     N NE E SE S SW W NW Get Sample GPS readings On What Field Trips was this species observed? Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded. Area   DJIBOUTI   All    From To     Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location. Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.   Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          N S or   GPS help Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence) Deg Min Sec     Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)          E W or Distance Bearing     N NE E SE S SW W NW Get Sample GPS readings Latest Sightings for African Quailfinch Select the Area to restrict the Sightings. Area   DJIBOUTI   All