Red-fronted Tinkerbird ( Pogoniulus pusillus, family: Lybiidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Red-fronted Tinker Barbet
The Red-fronted Tinkerbird (Latin name Pogoniulus pusillus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 469 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 143 also a picture of the Red-fronted Tinkerbird on page 144. The Red-fronted Tinkerbird belongs to the family of birds classified as Lybiidae.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Red-fronted Tinkerbird was called the Red-fronted Tinker Barbet
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Red-fronted Tinkerbird is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Red-fronted Tinkerbird in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-fronted Tinkerbird has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Red-fronted Tinkerbird is an extremely small bird about half the size of a house sparrow. The height of the Red-fronted Tinkerbird is about 12 cms and its weight is about 17 gms
The male and female Red-fronted Tinkerbird have the same plumage and colours
- Head is black.
- Eye is brown.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is yellow.
- Back is black.
- Legs are grey.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Red-fronted Tinkerbird feeds in tree and shrub foliage mainly
Invertebrates
Fruits
Seeds
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Red-fronted Tinkerbird is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Pogoniulus pusillus will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Red-fronted Tinkerbird is to create the nest in a hole in a tree trunk. The bird lays eggs which are white in colour and number between 2 to 4
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Red-fronted Tinkerbird are: woodlands and grasslands and riverine areas. The Red-fronted Tinkerbird is also at home in wetland and bushveld areas.
You will not see Red-fronted Tinkerbird in flocks. The bird prefers to act singly or in pairs.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Unogandilanga
Zulu ... iPhengengempe/isiKhuhlukhuhlu/uNogandilanga
Afrikaans ...Rooiblestinker
German ... Feuerstirn-Bartvogel
Portuguese ... Barbadinho-de-testa-vermelha
French ... Barbion front rouge
Dutch ... Roodvoorhoofd-Ketellapper
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 469
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
