Rufous-collared Sparrow
Zonotrichia capensis
Handsomely patterned sparrow from highlands of Chiapas south to temperate South America. Occurs in open and semiopen habitats such as villages, towns, and farmland with hedges and brushy thickets. Feeds on the ground and in bushes, at times in flocks. Note the peaked crown, bold black-and-gray head pattern (though black much reduced in southern populations), bright rusty collar, and black chest patch. Juvenile has ghosting of adult pattern and breast is streaked dusky.
Identification
The rufous-collared sparrow is .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);clip-path:polygon(0px 0px,0px 0px,0px 0px);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}13.5–15 cm (5+1⁄4–6 in) long and weighs 20–25 g (0.71–0.88 oz). The adult has a stubby grey bill, and a grey head with broad black stripes on the crown sides, and thinner stripes through the eye and below the cheeks. The nape and breast sides are rufous, and the upperparts are black-streaked buff-brown. There are two white wing bars. The throat is white, and the underparts are off-white, becoming brown on the flanks and with a black breast patch.<p>Young birds have a duller, indistinct head pattern, with brown stripes and a buff ground colour. They lack the rufous collar and have streaked underparts.<p>There are between 25 and 29 subspecies. In general, the smaller forms occur in coastal mountains, intermediate birds in the Andes, and large, darker, forms breed on the tepuis. The largest of the tepui subspecies, Z. c. perezchincillae, has grey underparts, and the rufous collar extends as a black band of freckles across the breast. This form might be separable as a distinct species, or it might just be a particularly distinct population due to genetic bottleneck effects.
Taxonomy
Genus: Zonotrichia; Family: Passerellidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Zonotrichia capensis
- Authority
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Zonotrichia
Range and habitat
In the northern and western parts of its range, this generally abundant bird is typically found at altitudes of 600–4,000 m (2,000–13,100 ft), but in the southern and eastern parts, it is commonly found down to near sea level. It can be seen in virtually any open or semi-open habitat, including cultivations, gardens, parks, grasslands, and scrubby second growth or cerrado. It copes well with urban and suburban environments but is absent from the densely forested sections of the Amazon Basin.<p>It is also scarce on the Guiana Shield, occurring mainly on some tepuis and in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana.<p>The species was likely more widespread across the Caribbean region during the much cooler climes of the last glacial period, but was left marooned in the highest Hispaniolan mountains (the highest in the Caribbean) once warming began. This pattern is mirrored in the population of the Hispaniolan crossbill (Loxia megaplaga), a sympatric bird. However, it is also known to exist in Aruba and some other Caribbean islands.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
New Guinea Woodcock
Scolopax rosenbergii
A large, dark shorebird with deep chestnut upperside and breast patterned with black banding and a white belly. Dumpy, with a short tail and long bill. Confined to New Guinea, where it inhabits wet montane forest, nearby thickets, and alpine grassland. Most often seen on the forest floor or in crepuscular aerial display flights. Unmistakable, as the only forest-dwelling shorebird in the mountains on the island. In display flight, gives deep “grrr-grrr-grrr” calls and a thin, high-pitched, disyllabic “chuwit” note heard regularly.
Swainson's Sparrow
Passer swainsonii
A drab sparrow of northeastern Africa. The head and underparts are gray, the wing and back are brown, and the rump is rufous. Generally common within its range in all habitats except closed-canopy forest. Fond of human habitation. Very similar to Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, but there is little overlap in range, and Swainson’s has darker underparts. Also very similar to Parrot-billed Sparrow, but slightly smaller and slimmer-billed, with paler underparts. The call is a ringing “churp.”
Spectacled Redstart
Myioborus melanocephalus
Attractive warbler of cloud forest and stunted treeline forest in the Andes. Common member of mixed-species flocks. Ranges from far southern Colombia south to Bolivia. Has slaty-gray upperparts, yellow underparts, and bold yellow spectacles. Crown is rufous in the northern half of its range, but solid black in the southern half. Some birds in northern Ecuador and southern Colombia have a yellow forehead. Actively forages along branches, often spreading its tail exposing white outer tail feathers.
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