Black-headed Brushfinch
Arremon atricapillus
A distinctive brushfinch with a patchy range in foothills of eastern Panama and Colombia. Most brushfinches have a prominent eyebrow but Black-headed has an entirely black head that contrasts with a bright white throat and olive back. Sexes alike. Singles or pairs are found on or near the ground in humid forest. Occurs from around 500-1,300m.
Taxonomy
Until recently, the black-headed brushfinch was placed in the genus Buarremon.<p>The black-headed brushfinch was often treated as a subspecies of the stripe-headed brushfinch (A. torquatus), but the distributions of the two approach each other closely in Colombia with no evidence of intergradation. In addition, the Costa Rican brushfinch, A. costaricensis has often been treated as a subspecies of the stripe-headed brushfinch, or a subspecies of the black-headed brushfinch, but based on ecology, morphology, song, and molecular work, it has recently been suggested that A. costaricensis is worthy of treatment as a species. In that case, the black-headed brushfinch would only include the subspecies tacarcunae, and be restricted to Colombia and eastern Panama.
- Scientific name
- Arremon atricapillus
- Authority
- (Lawrence, 1874)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Arremon
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Gray finch-like bird with an oddly elongated bill. It is only found in boulder fields and other rocky areas of the high Andes, usually above treeline. Females are browner than males, and young birds are faintly streaked. Long bill and white smudge below eye distinguish it from Plumbeous Sierra Finch. Always found on or near rocks, and often perches with its head tilted upward.
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Medium-sized woodpecker with a bright yellow face and red crown. Throat may be yellow or red depending on sex and subspecies. Olive-green above and heavily barred below with bold dark bars on a pale background. Males have a red forehead, yellow in females. Forages in the middle to upper levels of lowland humid forest and forest edges. Often accompanies mixed-species flocks. The call is a very hoarse “vrahhh.”
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