Blue-capped Cordon-bleu
Encyclopedia
The Blue-capped Cordon-bleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus) is native to Ethiopia
, Kenya
, Somalia
, Sudan
and Tanzania
in East Africa
. This small finch
does fairly well in captivity given adequate conditions, however, breeding this finch is said to be quite difficult.
, eating seeds and small insects. Most of this species do not exceed 7.5 cm (3 in.) in length and are quiet relative to other finches.
Blue-capped males (pictured at right) have blue on the tops of their heads and tend to be more vivid in color. On female Blue-Caps the light brown coloration on the wings extends to the nape of the neck and over the top the head.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
in East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. This small finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
does fairly well in captivity given adequate conditions, however, breeding this finch is said to be quite difficult.
Habitat
The Blue-capped Cordon-bleu inhabits subtropical or tropical (lowland) dry grassland, shrubland and desert. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 390,000 km².Feature
The finch is an omnivorous passerinePasserine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
, eating seeds and small insects. Most of this species do not exceed 7.5 cm (3 in.) in length and are quiet relative to other finches.
Blue-capped males (pictured at right) have blue on the tops of their heads and tend to be more vivid in color. On female Blue-Caps the light brown coloration on the wings extends to the nape of the neck and over the top the head.