Did you say dull?

Whoever said (or thought) that living in the bush is dull should give it a second look. Really.

After publishing pictures of yellow, then blue, birds, I'm completing the primary colours series with red.

It took me about 2 weeks to have a camera handy when these beautiful little creatures came to grace my property (usually early in the morning, at breakfast), and another two days to get decent pictures.

But my patience and persistence were rewarded with what I think is both the male (colourful) and the female (yellowish/greenish brown with a black tipped red tail) of the species.

Again, I'll need help to identify them, and will add the name when I have it.

I'm still undecided. It may be a bar-breasted firefinch (Lagonosticta rufopicta, Amarante pointé) like the ones I saw when I was living in town (http://ghana-outdoors.blogspot.com/2008/12/red-throated-visitor.html), but it may also be any of the other reddish Lagonosticta varieties. Maybe they'll oblige tomorrow or later and allow me to see them up close. In the meantime, I'll go with probabilities and say it is the same as those I identified a few years ago.

Almost a month later... I'm still undecided, and haven't seen the "bar" on the breast, so I'd lean towards an African Firefinch / Lagonosticta rubricata / Amarante foncé. But... it doesn't have a blue bill, which is said to be characteristic. But then again, not all the African Firefinches I've seen on the Internet did. So... Let's keep trying to get a better sighting.