Finfoots (Heliornithidae)
African Finfoot (Podica senegalensis) - HBW 3, p. 216
French: Grébifoulque d'Afrique
German: Binsenralle
Spanish: Avesol Africano
Other common names: Peters's Finfoot (petersii)
Taxonomy: Heliornis senegalensis Vieillot, 1817, Senegal.
Suggested subdivision of family into two subfamilies places present species in Podicinae alongside Heliopais personata. A cline in size, increasing towards south and east of range. Race camerunensis may apparently intermix with senegalensis in S Cameroon. Birds from Loango coast (extreme NW Angola) formerly awarded separate race albipectus, being intermediate in size and range, but not reliably separable. Four subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- senegalensis (Vieillot, 1817) - Senegal E mainly through forested belt of W Africa to E Zaire, Uganda, NW Tanzania and Ethiopia.
- somereni Chapin, 1954 - Kenya and NE Tanzania.
- camerunensis Sjöstedt, 1893 - S Cameroon, Gabon, Congo and N Zaire.
- petersii Hartlaub, 1852 - Angola E to SE Zaire, Zambia and Mozambique, and S to E South Africa.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird swimming and walking along the water's edge Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda (ssp senegalensis)
Josep del Hoyo 13 September 2006 4 years ago 42 sec 4.5 -
filmed from a small boat Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda (ssp senegalensis)
Daniêl Jimenez 15 September 2010 1 year ago 24 sec 3.9 -
female swimming along edge of lake under overhanging vegetation Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda (ssp senegalensis)
Martin Kennewell 31 May 2004 28 weeks ago 22 sec 3
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A male sitting on the branch
Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda (Monotypic species)
Arti 5 March 2011 1 week ago ADDED LAST MONTH 4.3 -
Male hiding most of the time in vegetation but then it swam in the open for some seconds.
Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda
Antero Topp 25 October 2011 10 weeks ago 4.1 -
A female bird caught in mid channel
Locality Loango National Park, Ogooué-Maritime Province, Gabon (ssp camerunensis)
Ian Fulton 16 August 2010 1 year ago 3.9 -
Female bird followed the male in the open.
Locality Mburo Lake National Park, Uganda
Antero Topp 25 October 2011 10 weeks ago 3.5 -
A male bird close to the mangroves
Locality Loango National Park, Ogooué-Maritime Province, Gabon (ssp camerunensis)
Ian Fulton 14 August 2010 1 year ago 3.1 -
A female skulking in the pondside vegetation.
Locality Ankasa-Nini National Park, Western Region, Ghana (ssp senegalensis)
Arthur Grosset 30 May 2011 24 weeks ago 3
- No sound recordings available yet
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