Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu Uraeginthus bengalus

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu Uraeginthus bengalus

Male Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Mole National Park, Ghana, June 2011 - click for larger image

Ghana and Ethiopia

The Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu is distributed in Africa south of the Sahara in the bush and grasslands of West Africa and surrounding the Congo Basin. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is frequently found in gardens and villages and feeds on grass seeds and other grains.

It is a most attractive little finch. The male, see here in photos 1, 2, 4 and 5 has a red patch on the ear coverts while the somewhat duller female in photos 3 and 6 has no red cheek patch.

The song is thin and high-pitched.

Female Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Mole National Park, Ghana, June 2011 - click for larger image

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Sof Omar, Ethiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image

Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Bogol Manyo Road, Ethiopia, January 2016 - click for larger image

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