# Locust finch

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The **locust finch** or **locustfinch** (***Paludipasser locustella***) is a species of [waxbill](/source/Waxbill) found in south-central and south-eastern Africa. It is the only species in the genus ***Paludipasser***. It is sometimes placed in the genus *[Ortygospiza](/source/Ortygospiza)*.

## Taxonomy

The locust finch was first formally [described](/source/Species_description) in 1909 by the [English](/source/English_people) [naturalist](/source/Naturalist) and [entomologist](/source/Entomologist) [Sheffield Airey Neave](/source/Sheffield_Airey_Neave) with the [type](/source/Type_(biology)), a subadult male, being collected at the Upper [Luansenshi River](/source/Luansenshi_River), north-east of [Bangweolo](/source/Bangweolo), [Northern Rhodesia](/source/Northern_Rhodesia), i.e. Zambia.[1] Neave placed in the [monotypic](/source/Monotypic_taxon) genus *Paludipasser* within the waxbill [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Estrildidae](/source/Estrildidae) but it has been placed in the same genus as the [quailfinch](/source/Quailfinch), *[Ortygospiza](/source/Ortygospiza)*.[2]

## Description

The locust finch is similar to the quailfinch but males have a red face, throat and breast with rufous wings and black body with white spots but with a plain back belly. The females also have rufous wings and lack the white face markings of female quailfinches while immatures have black and brown streaks on the upperparts and browner underparts than females.[3] This species has a body which is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) in length.[4]

## Distribution and habitat

It is mainly native to the [Uele River](/source/Uele_River) basin, Zambia and Malawi. The locust finch has been recorded in south-east Cameroon, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo south through Zambia, Angola, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. In Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique this is a rather rare species. There are unconfirmed reports of at least two pairs breeding on the [Jos Plateau](/source/Jos_Plateau) of northern Nigeria, this would be a very significant range extension for this species.[5] The preferred habitat is damp, thinly vegetated patches within grasslands close to water in sandy spoild areas, like [sandveld](/source/Sandveld).[6]

## Biology

The locust finch is a terrestrial species and perching is almost unknown. Its preferred habitat as prone to drying out in the dry season and at these times these birds can be nomadic. They are normally encountered in pairs but when drought conditions are severe they can gather in small flock of up to 10 birds. In southern Africa eggs are laid from January to May, i.e. during the rainy season with most egg laying at the height of the rainy season in January and February. This is a difficult species to locate due to its terrestrial habits and tendency to flyy long distances when flushed, like a quail.[6]

## Threats

The locust finch was previously listed as [near threatened](/source/Near_threatened). However, due to lack of information, it was suggested that it remains widespread and locally common, and there is no evidence of significant declines. The population of this species may have declined for the past few decades due to a series of droughts in the 1980s. It is threatened by the cage-bird trade and loss of marshland habitat, partly due to dry periods.[5]

## References

1. ["Bird type specimens: Passerines *Paludipasser locustella* - type specimen"](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/scientific-resources/collections/zoological-collections/bird-type-specimens/detail.dsml?vol=2&page=306&refer=browse&sort=author&beginIndex=4&listPageURL=browse%2Edsml%3Fsort%3Dauthor%26vol%3D2%26page%3D306). The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. ["Common Locustfinch *Paludipasser locustella* Neave, 1909"](https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=EF6293B7B6DFE001). *Avibase*. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

1. Ian Sinclair; Phil Hockey; Warwick Tarbolton (1993). *Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa*. New Holland. pp. 402–403. ISBN 1-85368-281-0.

1. Peter Clement; Alan Harris; John Davis (1993). *Finches & Sparrows: An Identification Guide*. Helm. pp. 385–386. ISBN 0-7136-8017-2.

1. ["Locust Finch *Paludipasser locustella*"](http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/locust-finch-paludipasser-locustella/text). Birdlife International. Retrieved 5 March 2021.

1. ["Locust Finch Rooivlerkkwartelvinkie *Ortygospiza locustella*"](https://sabap2.birdmap.africa/docs/sabap1/853.pdf). SABAP. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Locust finch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust_finch) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust_finch?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.