double-barred finch
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| image = Taeniopygia bichenovii 2 - Glen Davis.jpg
| image_caption = Glen Davis, New South Wales, Australia
| taxon = Stizoptera bichenovii
| parent_authority = Oberholser, 1899
| authority = (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
| synonyms = Taeniopygia bichenovii (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827)
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = See text
}}
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 .
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.{{ cite journal | last1=Vigors | first1=Nicholas Aylward | author1-link=Nicholas Aylward Vigors | last2=Horsfield | first2=Thomas | author2-link=Thomas Horsfield | year=1827 | title=Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities | journal=Transactions of the Linnean Society of London | volume=15 | issue=1 | language=English, Latin| pages=170–334 [258] | doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00115.x | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/778507 }} The title page is dated 1826.{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1968 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=14 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=359 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14481560 }} 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.{{Cite journal | last1=Olsson | first1=Urban | last2=Alström | first2=Per | date=2020 | title=A comprehensive phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the waxbills (Aves: Estrildidae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=146 | pages=106757 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106757 | doi-access=free | pmid=32028027 }} 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.{{ cite journal | last=Oberholser | first=Harry C. | author-link=Harry C. Oberholser | year=1899 | title=Some untenable names in ornithology | journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia | volume=51 | pages=201–216 [215] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26299952 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2023 | title=Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits | work=IOC World Bird List Version 13.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waxbills/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=1 September 2023 }} 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.{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n71/mode/1up 71], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n366/mode/1up 366]}}
Two subspecies are recognised:
- S. b. annulosa (Gould, 1840) – north Western Australia and Northern Territory (northwest, north Australia)
- S. b. bichenovii (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) – north Queensland to southeast New South Wales (east Australia)
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 {{Birdgloss|rump}}.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
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.
Gallery
Taeniopygia bichenovii 1 - Glen Alice.jpg|Lithgow, New South Wales, Australia
Double-barred finch 8066-2.jpg|Gregory River, Queensland
Double-barred Finch94.ogg|South-east Queensland, Australia
National Aviary (13020192503).jpg|Nesting in captivity
References
{{Reflist}}
- Finches and Sparrows by Clement, Harris and Davis, {{ISBN|0-7136-8017-2}}
External links
{{Commons category|Taeniopygia bichenovii}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110723025117/http://birdwatchersonline.net/forum/showthread.php?t=430 Video of double-barred finches]
{{Passeroidea|P.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q927133|from2=Q106617089}}
Category:Endemic birds of Australia
Category:Taxa named by Thomas Horsfield
Category:Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors