Red-crested Finch
Coryphospingus cucullatus
A distinctive red finchlike bird found in woodlands, forest edges, shrubby areas, urban parks, and gardens. Males are mostly dark red with a cinnamon back, and a black crown with a bright red center. Females lack the crest and are mostly dark brown with a cinnamon breast and rump. Both sexes have white eyerings. The song is a series of two alternating whistles.
Identification
The red pileated finch is about 13.5 cm (5.3 in) long. Both the male and female have a white eye ring. The male has a red crest and a black crown, just as the grey pileated finch does, however its upper parts are dark wine red, with a reddish rump, and the underparts are a drab reddish colour. The red crest and black head are absent in the female and the upper parts are a little more brown than those of the male. The throat of the female is white and the underparts pink.
Taxonomy
This species was first described by the German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller in 1776. Molecular analysis has shown that along with C. pileatus, the grey pileated finch, this species belongs in the Thraupidae, the tanager family. The pair form a sister group to a group containing the fulvous-crested tanager, the black-goggled tanager, the shrike tanagers and the grey-headed tanager.<p>There are three recognised subspecies; C. c. cucullatus from Guyana, Suriname and northeastern Brazil; C. c. fargoi from Peru, Bolivia, western Paraguay and northern Argentina; and C. c. rubescens from Brazil, eastern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and Uruguay.
- Scientific name
- Coryphospingus cucullatus
- Authority
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Coryphospingus
Range and habitat
This bird has a wide distribution in South America. Its range includes southern Brazil and northern Argentina, extending from Brasília and Rio de Janeiro southwards to Buenos Aires and westwards to the Andean foothills. Besides this main block, there are several isolated populations in dry mountain valleys in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, another isolated population in northern Brazil and another in Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana. This bird is seldom found above 1,500 m (4,900 ft) but in the Cusco area of southeastern Peru, it may be found up to about 2,000 m (6,600 ft).
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Shy, earthen-toned groundbird with a rotund, barrel-chested appearance. Both sexes are brown overall with a mossy green back and electric powder-blue nape; the female is much duller than the male, with less extensive blue and green on the upperparts. Face is warm gray-brown--paler than the dirt-brown underparts. Otherwise similar Blue-naped Pitta has no blue on the crown, no blue rump, and a browner face without gray tones. Song is a simple, barbet-like series of widely-spaced “choo” notes.
Glossy Ibis
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Long, curved bill. Adults mostly dark with iridescent green and reddish tones. Very thin white border surrounding the dark facial skin. Dark eyes. Usually gregarious, it is found mainly in salty marshes and shallow wetlands. Unmistakable in most of its range, though American birds are best distinguished from White-faced Ibis by distribution and facial pattern.
Rufous Bristlebird
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A skulking red-brown bird with a long tail that has a rough uneven tip. Upperparts rich reddish brown, especially wings and crown, underparts gray-brown with speckling. Obvious pale eyering, lores, and moustachial marks. Feeds on the ground in dense coastal shrubland and heathland, runs rapidly with head down. Calls include a gentle series of repeated thin clear "chit" notes followed by a slurred whistled phrase.
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