CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Science & Nature

Green-backed twinspot

species of bird

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 28, 2025
Entity authorityQ578352
Source-derived summary

The green-backed twinspot or green twinspot (Mandingoa nitidula) is an estrildid finch found in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. The IUCN has classified the species as being of least concern.

Subspecies

The green-backed twinspot has four sub-species:

Mandingoa nitidula chubbi

Mandingoa nitidula nitidula

Mandingoa nitidula schlegeli

Mandingoa nitidula virginiae

Habitat

The green-backed twinspot inhabits lowland moist forests of the tropical region. It may also be found in grassland and shrubland habitats.

Males are distinguished from females by their bright red facial feathers. Females have an olive-green face and darker (almost black) beak.

Aviculture

The green backed twinspot prefers its privacy in regards to breeding. Males in the breeding season will raise their heads, looking straight up while "dancing" on the perch next to the female, moving in a side-stepping fashion. The female, if receptive, will crouch down and point her tail to the male. Green backed twinspots tend to pair with one female and care for her and the young while breeding.

Editorial summary

“Green-backed twinspot” enters the record as species of bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Green-backed, twinspot and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewUseful for establishing the present vocabulary of the subject while preserving a route back to the evidence on which that vocabulary rests. The current 162-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Green-backed, twinspot and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Green-backed twinspot” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Green-backed, twinspot and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 28, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q578352. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
Verify next

Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Green-backed twinspot”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Green-backed twinspot primary sources, Green-backed twinspot archive and Green-backed research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Green-backed twinspot”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Green-backed twinspot” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.