Vidua purpurascens
Purple Indigobird
Subspecies and distribution:
monotypic - southern and East Africa
Morphology: (Payne 1996)
Plumage - dull purple
Bill - white
Legs - pale purple
Wing - brown
Host:
Jameson’s Firefinch (Lagonosticta rhodopareia)
Host song mimicry: (Payne 1973, 1993, 1996)
Most distinctive mimicry is the “purr” alarm, which has more than 22 notes per second and can sound like a purring cat. Also mimics slow and fast trills, a two-part “t’we t’we” whistle, and the “feeew” whistle of the female Jameson’s Firefinch.
