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Lesser Seedcracker

Pyrenestes minor

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernSeedsForestDomed nestSmall · 19 g
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 1
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 2
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 3
Photo: (c) William Stephens, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 4
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 5
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 6
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 7
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 8
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 9
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0
Lesser Seedcracker (Pyrenestes minor), photo 10
Photo: William Stephens · CC BY 4.0

What the Lesser Seedcracker sounds like

Sonogram of the Lesser Seedcracker: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Stephen Lowe · Call · Sanje, Morogoro, Tanzania · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The lesser seedcracker grows to a length of about 14 cm (5.5 in). The male plumage is brown tinged with olive, apart from the forehead, crown, side of face, chin, throat and upper breast which are bright red, and the rump and central tail feathers which are deep blood red. The underparts are paler than the upper parts. The female is similar but has a smaller area of red on the face and crown. The short, broad beak is black, the brown eye is surrounded by a white eye ring, and the legs are greyish-brown or dark grey. The juvenile is similar to the adults but the colours are more muted.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Lesser Seedcracker

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 8 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Lesser Seedcracker

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 4 countries with regular records, and 1 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Tanzania Malawi Zimbabwe Mozambique

Recorded as a rare visitor in South Africa.

About the Lesser Seedcracker

The lesser seedcracker or Nyasa seedcracker is a fairly common species of estrildid finch found in eastern Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 925,000 km2 (357,000 mi2) and is found in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as being of least concern.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Crimson Seedcracker (Pyrenestes sanguineus) Crimson SeedcrackerPyrenestes sanguineusThe crimson seedcracker grows to a length of about 14 cm (5.5 in). Black-bellied Seedcracker (Pyrenestes ostrinus) Black-bellied SeedcrackerPyrenestes ostrinusBlack-bellied seedcrackers are small passerine birds, measuring about 15 cm and exhibiting the typical silhouette of finch family members.

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