Western Bluebill Spermophaga haematina Scientific name definitions

15 cm; 20–26 g (pustulata). Male nominate race has head and upperparts glossy black, upperwing and tail black, chin to breast and flanks red, lower breast, belly and undertail-coverts black; iris dark brown or dark red, eyering grey in front of and behind eye, white above and below eye (conspicuous and swollen in breeding condition); bill blue-grey , sometimes quite dark, with red to orange tip often small but sometimes running over cutting edges; legs brownish-olive to blackish. Female has forehead and face dusky maroon, upper­parts and wings dark brownish-slate, uppertail-coverts reddish, tail dark brown or blackish; chin and throat red, duller than male, belly to rear flanks and undertail-coverts dark brownish-slate, heavily spotted white; eyering grey. Juvenile male is slaty grey like adult female, reddish uppertail-coverts and flanks, sooty underparts, reddish tinge on side of breast, bill black with tip red and yellow cutting edges, iris dark brown, eyering grey; juvenile female is like juvenile male, but less red, underparts paler and with indistinct whitish barring. Race togoensis has face black, uppertail-coverts red; <em>pustulata</em> has uppertail-coverts red, face partially red, bill blue with red tip and cutting edges, female less reddish on forehead, face more red than nominate female.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Forest undergrowth , clearings and edges, gallery forest, logged forest roads, forestry plantations, and in Gambia remnant forest thickets and dry coastal palm forest; often near water.

Resident.

Berries, grass seeds, rice, husks of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruit; also insects, including termites (Isoptera) and aphids (Aphidoidea), and spiders (Araneae). Uses sharp edges of bill to cut tough foods, and removes these by twisting husk, rather than by crushing. Forages at low levels in undergrowth; occasionally ascends to middle levels. Forages in pairs and singly; sometimes in mixed-species flocks.

Calls high, thin "sseeeee", contact note a sharp "tsip", alarm "tswink-tswink" and "tac". Song musical, warbled, whistled, starts with series of clicks, then long pure notes upslurred and downslurred, tending to rise near end, "tsuee, tsuee, tsuee-tswee, tswee, tsuee", song lasting c. 6–8 seconds; another version begins as slow "tsip-tsap" and accelerates into harsh trill; songs in Guinea-Bissau, Ghana and Gabon similar to one another. Female sings, less often and less loudly than male.

Season Aug–Dec in Gambia, and nest-building in Jun and Sept–Nov in Liberia; Aug–Oct in Nigeria; in Gabon, nest-building in Dec–Jan and young out of nest Mar–Apr. In courtship, male holds nesting material in bill, sings, bobs up and down, opens wings in "heraldic eagle" posture; when female responds, he drops material, mandibulates, spreads wings, vibrates tail, and tosses back head to display red breast. Nest a large ball-like structure with side entrance, made from moss, ferns, dry leaves and grass, sometimes lined with grass or feathers, hidden 1–2 m above ground in dense bush. Clutch 2–6 eggs; incubation period 14–16 days; nestling skin pale, pale grey down on head and back, gape margin pale yellow with two thick yellow swellings above and one below, upper swellings separated by black spot, two small marks near bill tip, palate yellow with three large rounded black spots, posterior palate with two smaller spots, tongue unmarked yellow or with dusky broken bar, and dark crescent below tongue (adults retain black spots on a red palate); nestling period 21–22 days; young remain with parents for 5–6 weeks after fledging.

Not globally threatened. Uncommon to locally very common or abundant. Widespread and generally common in W of range, but uncommon in Togo (S from Bismarckburg), and recorded only once in Benin (Noyau Central); one of commonest bird species at lower levels on Mt Cameroon. Densities in Liberia exceeding 25 pairs/km² in secondary forest, and in logged forest higher densities along roads and only 3 pairs/km² in interior of mature forest; abundant in NE Gabon, where 1 pair/2–3 ha.