Yellow-footed honeyguide

The yellow-footed honeyguide (Melignomon eisentrauti) is a species of bird in the family Indicatoridae. It is found in Cameroon, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by loss of its forest habitat.

Yellow-footed honeyguide

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Piciformes
Family: Indicatoridae
Genus: Melignomon
Species:
M. eisentrauti
Binomial name
Melignomon eisentrauti
Louette, 1981

Description

This small, unobtrusive bird grows to a length of about 18 cm (7 in).[1] The sexes are similar in this species but females are slightly smaller than males. The head and upper parts are olive green, with the back rather yellower than the head. The flight feathers of the wings and the two central feathers of the tail are brownish-black, as are the bases of the outer four pairs of feathers, the remainder being white, with dark tips. The chin, throat, breast and front of the belly are pale grey, while the rear belly and the under-tail coverts are pure white. The beak is yellowish, the orbital ring greenish-yellow and the iris brown. The legs and feet are yellow.[2] The voice is a sequence of about a dozen clear notes, each rising in pitch, the whole series gradually slowing and descending.[1]

Distribution

The yellow-footed honeyguide is native to tropical West Africa where it has been recorded in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon. It is known from lowland forest at altitudes of up to 750 m (2,500 ft).[1]

Ecology

This bird feeds on insects, fruits and seeds, and probably on beeswax as evidenced by a waxy yellow material being found among the stomach contents. Little is known of its breeding behaviour.[3]

Conservation status

The yellow-footed honeyguide occupies a total area of around 485,000 km2 (187,000 sq mi) and is described as being rare, although this may be because it is an unobtrusive bird. It is threatened by habitat destruction, as the forests where it is found are being degraded or cleared, but it is tolerant of some degree of habitat disturbance. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature suspects that its population is slowly declining and has assessed the species as having a "near threatened" conservation status.[4]

References
  1. BirdLife International 2017. "Melignomon eisentrauti". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22680659A118859968. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22680659A118859968.en. Downloaded on 01 January 2019.
  2. Short, Lester; Horne, Jennifer; Horne, Jennifer F.M. (2001). Toucans, Barbets, and Honeyguides: Ramphastidae, Capitonidae and Indicatoridae. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 442–443. ISBN 978-0-19-854666-5.
  3. Short, L.L.; Horne, J.F.M.; Kirwan, G.M.; Sharpe, C.J. "Yellow-footed Honeyguide (Melignomon eisentrauti)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  4. "Species factsheet: Yellow-footed Honeyguide Melignomon eisentrauti". Data Zone. BirdLife International. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
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