Cut-throat
Amadina fasciata
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyEstrildidae (Waxbills and Allies)
- GenusAmadina (Cut-throat and Red-headed Finches)
- SpeciesAmadina fasciata (Cut-throat)
About the Cut-throat
The cut-throat finch (Amadina fasciata) is a common species of estrildid finch found throughout Africa; it is also known as the bearded finch, the ribbon finch, the cut throat, and the weaver finch. The cut-throat finch was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crossbills in the genus Loxia and coined the binomial name Loxia fasciata. The specific epithet is from Late Latin faciatus meaning "banded". Gmelin based his account on the "fasciated grossbeak" that had been described and illustrated in 1776 by the English naturalist Peter Brown. Neither Brown nor Gmelin specified a locality but in 1805 the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot designated Senegal. The cut-throat finch is now placed with the red-headed finch in the genus Amadina that was introduced in 1827 by the English naturalist William Swainson.
Four subspecies are recognised: A. f. fasciata (Gmelin, JF, 1789) – south Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to Sudan and Uganda A. f. alexanderi Neumann, 1908 – Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia to Kenya and Tanzania A. f. meridionalis... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Cut-throat in Nairobi National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Nairobi National Park
Purple Grenadier
Uraeginthus ianthinogaster
Red-billed Firefinch
Lagonosticta senegala
Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
Uraeginthus bengalus
Bronze Mannikin
Lonchura cucullata
Black-faced Quailfinch
Ortygospiza atricollis
Crimson-rumped Waxbill
Estrilda rhodopyga
Black-faced Waxbill
Estrilda erythronotos
African Firefinch
Lagonosticta rubricata
Black-and-white Mannikin
Lonchura bicolor
Orangebreast
Amandava subflava
Yellow-bellied Waxbill
Coccopygia quartinia
Common Bulbul
Pycnonotus barbatus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Cut-throat in Nairobi National Park?
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cut-throat sighting in Nairobi National Park, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Cut-throat in Nairobi National Park?
March has the highest sighting rate for Cut-throat in Nairobi National Park in our monthly data.