About Lagonosticta rufopicta (Fraser, 1843)
This species, the bar-breasted firefinch, has an adult length of 11 cm. Adults have red heads and breasts, with white barring or speckling on the breast. The forehead, lores, and supercilium are deep red; this red color fades to a less intense shade on the ear coverts, chin, throat, and sides of the neck. The crown and most of the upperparts are a fairly uniform greyish brown, which contrasts with the deep red lower rump and upper tail coverts. The tail is darker brown than the back, with variable amounts of red near its base. Flight feathers are dark. Below the crimson breast, the underparts are buffy grey. Juveniles are much duller in color, with red only present on the rump and upper tail coverts. Bar-breasted firefinches are distributed from the Gambia and southern Senegal eastwards to western Uganda and eastern Kenya. This is a common species that lives in grassland, bush, acacia savanna, and forest clearings. It can also be found near settlements and in farmland, especially in damp areas. It typically occurs in pairs or small family parties, but larger flocks form outside of the breeding season, and it will join mixed-species flocks. It feeds on small seeds on the ground, particularly grass seeds and millet.
