Pink-throated Twinspot Hypargos margaritatus Scientific name definitions

12–13·5 cm; 13 g. Male has crown to back brown, rump and uppertail-­coverts dull reddish-pink, tail dark brown, edged pinkish, wing brown; face and sides of neck to upper breast pink, lower breast to undertail-coverts black, sides of breast and belly with large pinkish spots and white spots ; iris dark brown, eyering pale pinkish-blue; bill blue-grey; legs grey. Female differs from male in having face to breast grey, centre of belly to undertail-coverts pale grey, sides of breast and belly black with large pinkish-white spots; eyering slightly duller. Juvenile is like female, but underparts entirely pale grey, bill black.

S Mozambique (S of R Save), NE South Africa (E Limpopo S to N KwaZulu-Natal) and E Swaziland.

Dry woodland with dense undergrowth and thickets, sand forest, palm scrub, thorny cover along edge of riverine forest, and dense thorn-scrub.

Resident.

Small grass seeds; insects. Forages on ground . Generally in pairs or in small family groups; often with other waxbills. Inconspicuous.

Close contact call a soft rising "seesee" or "sisi"; distance call or alarm a short "zirr" or "rrrrreeee" or a long high "tseeeerrr". Song a trill ending with a buzzy phrase.

Breeds in Jan in South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal). No information on courtship behaviour. Nest an ovoid structure with side entrance, made from leaf ribs, leaves, flowers and spider webs, lined with plant fibres or feathers, hidden near ground in dense vegetation and leaf litter. Clutch 3–5 eggs; incubation period 12–14 days; nestling skin pinkish, long greyish down on head, gape with white papillae, two on each side and lined with black (gape swellings change to blue-green on inner surface a few days after hatching, and to blue after fledging), palate yellow with three black spots, rest of mouth and tongue reddish; nestling period 20–21 days. Probable brood parasitism of this species in South Africa by Green Indigobird (Vidua codringtoni) suggested by latter's song mimicry.

Not globally threatened. Restricted range species: present in South-east African Coast EBA. In South Africa, considered "near-threatened" owing to small range. Uncommon to locally fairly common. Estimated population in Mozambique probably in excess of 80,000 individuals; up to 2000 exported annually from this country for cagebird trade. Found in large areas of protected habitat in South Africa.