The nigritas, formerly called negrofinches, are small passerine birds belonging to the genus Nigrita in the estrildid finch family Estrildidae. There are four species which occur across the African tropical rainforest.
They are long. The bill is short and black and is fairly slender in some species. The colour of the plumage varies but all have a dark tail. The upperparts are grey or brown and the underparts are black, grey, white or reddish brown. The grey-headed nigrita and male pale-fronted nigrita have a black face and the white-breasted nigrita has a black cap. Nigritas have whistling or trilling songs and calls.
They feed on insects, fruit and seeds. They often forage high in the treetops, usually alone or in pairs.
Taxonomy The genus Negrita was introduced in 1843 by the English naturalist Hugh Edwin Strickland as a replacement name for Aethiops. For the publication date see: Strickland had introduced the genus Aethiops in 1841 in the combination Aethiops canicapillus for the grey-headed nigrita. The name Aethiops was pre-occupied as it had been used earlier in 1841 by William Martin for a genus of monkeys. The type species is Aethiops canicapillus Strickland, by monotypy. The genus name Negrita is from Modern Latin negritus meaning "black".
Species list The genus contains four species: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Nigrita fusconotus White-breasted nigrita widespread Nigrita bicolor Chestnut-breasted nigrita widespread Nigrita luteifrons Pale-fronted nigrita widespread Nigrita canicapillus Grey-headed nigrita widespread
References
Further reading
Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davies, John (1993) Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide, Christopher Helm, London. Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town.