Blanford's Snowfinch
Pyrgilauda blanfordi
Like many other snowfinches, the Blanford’s is found in open areas on high-altitude steppes and hills, but generally prefers drier areas than other species. Predominantly white and brown with a black crescent curving around the front of the face and a pale orange one curving around the back, giving the bird a somewhat round-cheeked appearance. Often quite tame, taking scraps from hikers, monks, and shepherds.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Pyrgilauda blanfordi
- Authority
- (Hume, 1876)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passeridae
- Genus
- Pyrgilauda
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Carrizal Seedeater
Amaurospiza carrizalensis
Small, chunky finch with thick gray bill. Male deep blue-black, female brown, both sexes with white underwings. Mostly found in pairs in the understory of spiny bamboo forest. Song a fast musical warble of four or six notes “pee PEEu pee PEEu peePEEuu.” Similar to Blue-black Grassquit, which is smaller with a more conical bill; also to Amazonian Grosbeak, which is larger with a bulkier bill. Little known, endemic to the southern lowlands of Venezuela.
Semiplumbeous Hawk
Leucopternis semiplumbeus
Small forest hawk, usually seen perched inconspicuously in the canopy or at the forest edge. White below and gray above with distinctive orange-red legs and bill. Sexes alike. Juvenile similar to adult, but with whitish streaks on the head and very fine gray streaks on the breast.
Red-necked Falcon
Falco chicquera
A rather small but powerful falcon with fast and direct flight. It has a rufous crown, nape, and moustachial stripe. A wide yellow eye-ring is quite distinct. Its upperparts are pale gray, and fine barring adorns its white underparts, which are sometimes suffused with gray. This bird of the open country mostly hunts birds on the wing, targeting its prey from a perch, often bringing it down quite close to the ground.
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