Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
Sporophila minuta
Very small, finchlike bird of grassy and weedy areas in tropical lowlands, especially in marshy areas. Often in flocks, mixing readily with slightly larger White-collared Seedeater. Breeding male (only in spring–summer) is striking: slaty bluish above and rusty below with a rusty rump. Nonbreeding male, female, and immature are much plainer: buffy brown overall, paler below, with distinct paler wing edgings (unlike plain-winged White-collared Seedeaters in west Mexico), and distinct orangey tones to the bill (bill dusky on White-collared).
Identification
The ruddy-breasted seedeater (Sporophila minuta) is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and heavily degraded former forest.
Taxonomy
The ruddy-breasted seedeater was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia minuta. The specific epithet is from Latin minutus meaning "little" or "small". The type locality is Suriname. The ruddy-breasted seedeater is now placed in the genus Sporophila that was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1844.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Sporophila minuta
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Sporophila
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Bahama Mockingbird
Mimus gundlachii
An often conspicuous resident of a wide variety of habitats including woodlands, scrub, and suburbia. Its long, white-tipped tail and largely gray plumage eliminate all other species except for Northern Mockingbird. Unlike Bahama, the Northern Mockingbird has large white patches on wings (most easily seen in flight), white outer tail feathers, and is unstreaked below, except in immature plumage. Streaking on young Northern Mockingbirds is mostly on chest, not concentrated on sides, as it is in the Bahama Mockingbird. Song is a series of phrases, each repeated several times; contrary to its name, it does not mimic other species.
Lesser Prairie-Chicken
Tympanuchus pallidicinctus
Plump chickenlike bird found in grasslands. Body and wings entirely barred brown with paler buffy throat. In spring, males gather at display site and perform dance to attract females: look for them hunched over with ear-like feathers protruding from atop head and darker reddish-orange skin exposed on the neck. Inconspicuous and difficult to find away from display sites. Very similar to Greater Prairie-Chicken but no range overlap. Averages slightly paler and smaller than Greater.
White-throated Francolin
Campocolinus albogularis
Small and colorful francolin. Males and females are similar, but males have richer coloration, with a streaked breast, while females have a lightly barred breast. There is some geographical variation; the southern birds have much more rufous on the breast. Found on the ground in savanna and woodland habitats with thick grass. Generally shy and retiring, preferring to run away rather than flush. Gives two distinctive calls: a repeated “chur-di” and a short series of cackling notes. Female similar to female Coqui and Schlegel’s Francolins, but distinguished by many details of the head and breast pattern, and in flight by the rufous wings. Smaller than most other francolins, and bigger than quail and buttonquail.
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