Green-winged pytilia

The green-winged pytilia (Pytilia melba) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 6,000,000 square kilometres (2,300,000 sq mi).[2]

Green-winged pytilia
Adult male, Tsavo East NP, Kenya
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Pytilia
Species:
P. melba
Binomial name
Pytilia melba
Synonyms

Fringilla melba Linnaeus, 1758

Female, San Diego Zoo

It is widespread throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, though it is more rarely seen in central, far southern and coastal western parts of the continent. It has two subspecies groups, nominate melba in the south and the northerly citerior, which are sometimes treated as separate species. Usually, additional subspecies are recognized within these two groups.

Origin

Origin and phylogeny has been obtained by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et al.[3] Estrildinae may have originated in India and dispersed thereafter (towards Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats).

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Pytilia melba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Green-winged Pytilia". BirdLife International. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  3. Arnaiz-Villena, A; Ruiz-del-Valle V; Gomez-Prieto P; Reguera R; Parga-Lozano C; Serrano-Vela I (2009). "Estrildinae Finches (Aves, Passeriformes) from Africa, South Asia and Australia: a Molecular Phylogeographic Study" (PDF). The Open Ornithology Journal. 2: 29–36. doi:10.2174/1874453200902010029.
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