Pinzón de langosta

El pinzón de langosta ( Paludipasser locustella ) es una especie de estríldido que se encuentra en el centro y sureste de África. Es la única especie del género Paludipasser . A veces se clasifica dentro del género Ortygospiza .

El pinzón de langosta fue descrito formalmente por primera vez en 1909 por el naturalista y entomólogo inglés Sheffield Airey Neave, cuyo espécimen tipo , un macho subadulto, fue recolectado en el río Upper Luansenshi , al noreste de Bangweolo , Rodesia del Norte , es decir, Zambia. ^{[ 4 ]} Neave lo ubicó en el género monotípico Paludipasser dentro de la familia Estrildidae, pero ha sido ubicado en el mismo género que el pinzón codorniz , Ortygospiza . ^{[ 2 ]}

El pinzón de langosta es similar al pinzón codorniz, pero los machos tienen la cara, la garganta y el pecho rojos, alas rojizas y cuerpo negro con manchas blancas, pero con el dorso liso. Las hembras también tienen alas rojizas y carecen de las marcas blancas en la cara de las hembras de pinzón codorniz, mientras que los ejemplares jóvenes tienen rayas negras y marrones en la parte superior y la parte inferior más marrón que las hembras. ^{[ 5 ]} Esta especie tiene un cuerpo de 9 a 10 cm (3,5 a 3,9 pulgadas) de longitud. ^{[ 6 ]}  

It is mainly native to the 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 of northern Nigeria, this would be a very significant range extension for this species.^[7] The preferred habitat is damp, thinly vegetated patches within grasslands close to water in sandy spoild areas, like sandveld.^[8]

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.^[8]

The locust finch was previously listed as 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.^[7]