Will The Real Black And White Please Stand Up.....

[lovezebs]

Hello All....

Over in my favorite Pet Shop, there is a lone and lonely little black and white birdling, who has been there for a long time. Initially, there were two of the, but one was apparently bought by sometime, leaving this singleton behind.

Lately, he hasn't been looking very happy, a little rough, a little ragged, a little droopy.... and he has gone on sale. I feel bad for the little guy....

Now, the question is, what is he?
He's listed as a Magpie Mannikin (with a note claiming that he's actually a really sweet little bird, who gets along well with Zebras and Societies ).

However, I'm not sure if he's a Magpie Mannikin, or a Black and White Mannikin.....

So I started looking at pictures of these different species, and got more confused than ever

Under the name of Black and White Mannikin...
http://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-and-white_Mannikin
http://www.larsfoto.se/en/gallery/bird- ... e-mannikin
http://ibc.lynxeds.com/photo/black-whit ... rched-bird
http://www.oiseaux.net/photos/alain.ren ... kin.2.html

Under the name of Magpie Mannikin....

http://www.nejohnston.org/Birds/bird_Ma ... ikin.shtml
http://www.birdinfo.co.za/rarebirds/02_ ... nnikin.htm
http://www.taenos.com/en/itis/magpie-ma ... gilloides/
http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/magpie ... oides.html


Would someone please clarify, and tell me what's what, and who's who????

[Sally]

There is much confusion over these species, but I have had the Black and White Mannikin in the past. It is much smaller than the other Mannikins (except for Bronze-winged), and there are only two colors--black and white. The black is very glossy, as is the white, so it makes for a very striking contrast. If there are any brown feathers, then it is a different mannikin, perhaps a Magpie.

[slwatson]

lovezebs

A pure bred black and white mannikin will only be black and white, and it is much smaller than a magpie. The magpie is also referred to as the giant mannikin, and it will have black, dark brown, and white. The bird forum link at the very top looks like a picture of a red backed mannikin.

[lovezebs]

slwatson

Hi Stacie,

That's what I would have thought too, but if you look on those links, you will see a lot of different types of birds, listed under these twords names. Hence the confusion.