The nigritas, formerly called negrofinches, are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Nigrita in the estrildid finch family Estrildidae. There are four species which occur in forest, secondary growth and scrubland in West, Central and East Africa.

Nigrita
Grey-headed nigrita (N. canicapillus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Nigrita
Strickland, 1843
Type species
Aethiops canicapillus[1]
Strickland, 1841
Species
  • N. fusconotus
  • N. bicolor
  • N. luteifrons
  • N. canicapillus

They are 10-15 centimetres long. The bill is short and black and is fairly slender in some species. The colour of the plumage varies but all have a dark tail. The upperparts are grey or brown and the underparts are black, grey, white or reddish brown. The grey-headed nigrita and male pale-fronted nigrita have a black face and the white-breasted nigrita has a black cap. Nigritas have whistling or trilling songs and calls.

They feed on insects, fruit and seeds. They often forage high in the treetops, usually alone or in pairs.

Species list

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Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Nigrita fusconotus White-breasted nigrita Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda
  Nigrita bicolor Chestnut-breasted nigrita Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo & Uganda
Nigrita luteifrons Pale-fronted nigrita Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and Uganda
  Nigrita canicapillus Grey-headed nigrita Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia

References

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  1. ^ "Estrildidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  • Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davies, John (1993) Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide, Christopher Helm, London.
  • Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town.