Double-barred finch

The double-barred finch (Stizoptera bichenovii) is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Bicheno's finch or as the owl finch, the latter of which owing to the dark ring of feathers around the face. It is the only species placed in the genus Stizoptera .

Double-barred finch
Glen Davis, New South Wales, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Stizoptera
Oberholser, 1899
Species:
S. bichenovii
Binomial name
Stizoptera bichenovii
(Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms

Taeniopygia bichenovii (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)

Taxonomy

The double-barred finch was formally described in 1827 by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield from specimens collected near Shoalwater Bay and Broad Sound in Queensland, Australia. They coined the binomial name Fringilla bichenovii.[2][3] The species was formerly placed in the genus Taeniopygia. A molecular phylogenetic study of the Estrildidae published in 2020 found that the genus Taeniopygia was not monophyletic.[4] In the reorganization to create monophyletic genera, the double-barred finch was moved to the resurrected genus Stizoptera that had been introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser.[5][6] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek stizō meaning "to tattoo" with pteron meaning "wing". The specific epithet commemorates James Ebenezer Bicheno, a colonial secretary of Van Diemen's Land appointed in September 1842.[7]

Two subspecies are recognised:[6]

Description

The double-barred finch is a 10–11 cm long munia-like bird. It has a white face bordered with black, brown upperparts and throat, and white underparts. The throat and underparts are separated by another black line. The wings are patterned in brown and white. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and browner. The subspecies S. b. annulosa differs from the nominate in having a black rather than a white rump.[8]

Behaviour

The double-barred finch is granivorous and highly gregarious. Nests are built in grass, bushes or low trees, with four to six eggs laid per clutch. The call is a soft tet or a louder peew, and the song is a soft fluting, which is somewhat like the zebra finch.[8]

  • Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia
    Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia
  • Gregory River, Queensland
    Gregory River, Queensland
  • South-east Queensland, Australia
  • Nesting in captivity
    Nesting in captivity

References
  1. BirdLife International. (2016). "Taeniopygia bichenovii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22719682A94639041. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22719682A94639041.en. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  2. Vigors, Nicholas Aylward; Horsfield, Thomas (1827). "Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (in English and Latin). 15 (1): 170-334 [258]. The title page is dated 1826.
  3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 359.
  4. Olsson, Urban; Alström, Per (2020). "A comprehensive phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the waxbills (Aves: Estrildidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 146: 106757. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106757.
  5. Oberholser, Harry C. (1899). "Some untenable names in ornithology". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 51: 201-216 [215].
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  7. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 71, 366. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. Payne, R. B. (2021). Double-barred Finch (Stizoptera bichenovii), version 1.1. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.dobfin1.01.1
  • Finches and Sparrows by Clement, Harris and Davis, ISBN 0-7136-8017-2
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