Crithagra xanthopygia (Ruppell, 1840)

Dove, Carla J., Whatton, James F., Milensky, Christopher M., Boss, Will, Rayaleh, Houssein & Awaleh, Djama G., 2024, Notable records and observations of four passerines in Djibouti, 2020, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 144 (1), pp. 42-48 : 46-47

YELLOW-RUMPED SEEDEATER Crithagra xanthopygia

Locally common in the highlands of Eritrea and Ethiopia in dry, open scrub at 900–2,500 m ( Redman et al. 2016). Mills & Cohen (2015) observed a Crithagra sp. in Forêt du Day and suggested that C. xanthopygia might occur in Djibouti. Our observations in 2016 at Campement Touristique de la Forêt du Day ( Dove et al. 2020) were inconclusive and no specimens of this seedeater were obtained. During the 2020 expedition we obtained specimens at Forêt du Day near Campement Touristique Dittilou (11 o 46’50”N, 42 o 01’37”E, 675 m), which is c. 5 km east of our 2016 site; all 12 were identified as Yellow-rumped Seedeater. Our specimens were compared with Reichenow’s Seedeater C. reichenowi at USNM because the latter is similar and was the only Crithagra sp. previously known to occur in Djibouti ( Mills & Cohen 2015). The current specimens differed from Reichenow’s Seedeater in the lack of whitish superciliary stripes, greyer underparts and by having a white throat ( Fig. 3 ). Sightings on eBird describe in detail both Yellow-throated Seedeater C. flavigula and C. xanthopygia in the same area of Ethiopia near Dire Dawa ( R. Clark, https://ebird.org/checklist/S21407416; accessed 19 April 2023). None of our specimens is similar to descriptions or photographs of Yellow-throated Seedeater submitted to eBird, but they are similar to those of Yellow-rumped Seedeater. As suggested by Mills & Cohen (2015), more study is needed on Crithagra seedeaters in Djibouti to determine whether any other species might occur in the country and to determine the validity and taxonomic rank of the taxa within this genus. We deposited all of our DNA sequences identified as C. xanthopygia to GenBank. We found C. xanthopygia to be common in the Dittilou area, in the rocky wadi, where we saw and heard their vocalisations daily and throughout the day. The birds appeared to be engaged in a second brood because very young and immature birds were mist-netted, but the adults were still in breeding condition. They fed on small seeds. The species occurs mostly in the Goda Mountains and nearby Mabla Mountains in the remaining small forests in Djibouti.

Our work in Djibouti (2014, 2016 and 2020) has continued to refine and document knowledge of the country’s avifauna. Our observations and those recently reported by Buechley et al. (2019) indicate that its birdlife is understudied and in need of additional surveys over longer periods to document thoroughly avian diversity in country. Given rapid urban development in this part of the Horn of Africa, such work is a priority to inform conservation efforts.

Figures

Figure 3 (A‒B). Adult-plumaged Reichenow’s Seedeater Crithagra reichenowi specimen USNM 246631 (left) compared to Yellow-rumped Seedeater C. xanthopygia specimen USNM 664564 (right) showing the lack of whitish supercilium, and greyer underparts and white throat in the Yellow-rumped Seedeater specimen (right) (Carla Dove)