Editing Village indigobird

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2024}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Village indigobird
| image = Village indigobird, Vidua chalybeata, at Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo, South Africa (male) (17849716130).jpg
| image_caption = Male of the red-billed subspecies (''V. c. amauropteryx'') in [[Mapungubwe National Park|Mapungubwe N. P.]]
| image2 = Female village indigobird, Vidua chalybeata, at Mapungubwe National Park, Limpopo, South Africa . Not good shots, but they go with all the males I posted (18047546632), crop.jpg
| image2_caption = Female in Mapungubwe N. P.
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Vidua chalybeata'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22719936A132133516 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22719936A132133516.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Vidua
| species = chalybeata
| authority = ([[Statius Muller|Müller]], 1776)
}}
The '''village indigobird''' ('''''Vidua chalybeata'''''), also known as the '''steelblue widowfinch''' or (in U.S. aviculture) the '''Combassou finch''', is a small [[songbird]] belonging to the family [[indigobird|Viduidae]]. It is distinguishable from other indigobird species by bill and leg colours, the colour tinge of the male's breeding plumage, song, and to lesser extent, the nestling's plumage and mouth pattern.<ref name="pay">{{cite web |last1=Payne |first1=R. |title=Village Indigobird (Vidua chalybeata) |url=http://www.hbw.com/species/village-indigobird-vidua-chalybeata#Taxonomy|website=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive |date = 2016 |publisher=Lynx Edicions, Barcelona|access-date=12 November 2016}}</ref> The bill colour can be red or white depending on the population, and there is some regional variation in the colour tone of the male's plumage.

==Distribution and habitat==
It is a resident breeding bird in most of Africa south of the [[Sahara Desert]]. This [[indigobird]] is found in many open habitats including open woodland, scrub and cultivation, but, as its name implies, it is most readily seen near villages.

==Cycle of life==
It is a brood parasite which lays its eggs in the nests of [[red-billed firefinch]]es. Unlike the [[common cuckoo]], it does not destroy the host's egg. Typically, 2-4 eggs are added to those already present. The eggs of both the host and the firefinch are white, although the indigobird's are slightly larger. The nestling indigobirds mimic the unique [[gape]] pattern of the fledglings of the host species.

==Behaviour==
The male village indigobird is territorial, and he has an elaborate courtship flight display. The song is given from a high perch, and consists of rapid sputtering and churring intermingled with mimicry of red-billed firefinch's song, especially the characteristic ''chick-pea-pea-pea''.

The diet of this species consists of seeds and grain.

==Description==

The village indigobird is 11–12&nbsp;cm in length. The adult male is entirely greenish-black or bluish-black except for his orange-red legs and conical white bill. The female resembles a female [[house sparrow]], with streaked brown upperparts, buff underparts, a whitish supercilium and a yellowish bill, although she also has red legs. Immature birds are like the female but plainer and without a supercilium.

Many of the indigobirds are very similar in appearance, with the males difficult to separate in the field, and the young and females near impossible. Helpful pointers with the village indigobird are the association with its host species, the red-billed firefinch, and its presence near human habitation.

==Subspecies==
There are six accepted subspecies:<ref name="pay"/>
* ''V. c.'' subsp. ''chalybeata'' <small>(Statius Müller, 1776)</small> – West Africa: Senegambia to central Mali
::Description: Green, greenish-blue, or green-hued male plumage and white bills
* ''V. c.'' subsp. ''neumanni'' <small>(Alexander, 1908)</small> – Mali to South Sudan
* ''V. c.'' subsp. ''ultramarina'' <small>(J. F. Gmelin, 1789)</small> – Ethiopia and Eritrea
* ''V. c.'' subsp. ''centralis'' <small>(Neunzig, 1928)</small> – DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania
* ''V. c.'' subsp. ''okavangoensis'' <small>Payne, 1973</small> – western Angola to northern Botswana
::Description: Red and white-billed birds with blue-hued male plumage
* ''V. c.'' subsp. ''amauropteryx'' <small>(Sharpe, 1890)</small> – coastal East Africa and southeastern Africa
::Description: Red-billed birds with blue-hued male plumage

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Village Indigo Bird.jpg|male ''V. c. centralis'', [[Kenya]]
Village indigobird (Vidua chalybeata okavangoensis) male Botswana.jpg|male ''V. c. okavangoensis'', [[Botswana]]
Village indigobird (Vidua chalybeata okavangoensis) male Zimbabwe.jpg|male ''V. c. okavangoensis'', [[Zimbabwe]]
Viduidae - Vidua chalybeata.JPG|Blue plumage gloss in strong illumination
</gallery>

==References==<!-- AnimalBehaviour55:1537. -->
{{Reflist}}
* ''Birds of The Gambia'' by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, {{ISBN|1-873403-32-1}}

==External links==
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/village-indigobird-vidua-chalybeata Village indigobird videos, photos & sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection
* Village indigobird - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/867.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds].

{{Viduidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q941573}}

[[Category:Vidua|village indigobird]]
[[Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1776|village indigobird]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller|village indigobird]]