Allospizids, the Specworld or otherworld finches, are small, dumpy birds and usually posses a robust parrot-like bill for cracking seeds. The 200 or so species in this family can be found throughout Africa and the entire Northern Hemisphere south of the Arctic. They build intricate, cup-like nests and have a melodious, chirruping song.
When searching for fresh food-supplies, vast nomadic clouds of these tiny allospiziforms darken the skies over the African plains. When threatened by aerial predators on the wing they form a dense, globular structure. Flying humbugs generally feed on tall, seeding grasses as well as flying insects.
The painted pfiffle (Falleravis splendens) is one of the most beautiful allospizian species to dwell in North America. Males sport vivid black, orange, and red plumage to attract mates, and are easily recognized from a distance. Subadult and adult painted pfiffles feed exclusively on large seeds, which they crack open with their powerful bills; juveniles prefer small seeds and insects.
Like all pfiffles, this species is migratory, flying to and from its winter feeding grounds in South America every year to nest in the deciduous forests of eastern North America. Females migrate a few weeks ahead of the males, giving them time to construct or renovate their future homes. These bag-shaped nests, made of grass and sticks covered with a mud-and-saliva mixture, are nearly indestructible, and a female will come back to her nest year after year, making repairs as her abode wears out. This method of home-making is common among the allospiziforms, and is taken to extreme by the African cityfinches (see below). Unlike their distant cousins, however, pfiffles do not enlarge their nests past their original size, and a nest is usually abandoned after its maker dies.