Yellow-bellied Seedeater
Sporophila nigricollis
Male is a fairly distinctive seedeater with yellow belly (sometimes very pale), dark breast and face, and brownish-olive back. Often shows some smudgy dark marks down the flanks. Bill is pale silvery. Female seedeaters are extremely difficult to identify; Yellow-bellied tends to look warmer with yellowish tones on underparts, but many are best left unidentified unless accompanied by a male. Most often found in flocks or pairs in open grassy habitats, sometimes near the edge of forest but also in agricultural areas.
Identification
The yellow-bellied seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed with the New World sparrows in the Emberizidae.
Taxonomy
The hooded seedeater was a proposed bird species described by Austrian ornithologist August von Pelzeln as Spermophila melanops in 1870. The only known individual was heavily moulted and caught in October 1823 from a flock of other seedeater species at the edge of a lake 15 kilometres north of Registro do Araguaia, Brazil. It is now considered to be either a hybrid or an abnormal specimen of the yellow-bellied seedeater. The bird had a black crest and throat, the upperparts were olive and the underparts showed a dingy buff. In contrast, a typical yellow-bellied seedeater has pale yellow underparts and the black colouring extends to the upper breast.
- Scientific name
- Sporophila nigricollis
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1823)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Sporophila
Range and habitat
The yellow-bellied seedeater is found in Central and South America from Costa Rica to Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, pastureland, and heavily degraded former forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: rising.
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Marañon Crescentchest
Melanopareia maranonica
Gorgeous little bird with a small range in the Marañon Valley of northwestern Peru and adjacent border areas of Ecuador (south of Zumba). Note the black mask, white eyebrow and throat, rich chestnut underparts, and white edges to wing feathers. Similar to Elegant Crescentchest, but wings lack chestnut patches and are more strongly marked with white; ranges do not overlap. Marañon Crescentchest inhabits arid scrub where it stays low, often on the ground. Typical song is a series of 20 or more evenly spaced clicks.
Yellow Canary
Crithagra flaviventris
A large canary with different-looking males and females. The male has bright yellow underparts, yellow-green upperparts, and a well-marked face pattern. The female is drab gray-brown with streaky underparts, yellowish edges of the wing feathers, and a yellow rump. Pairs and small groups occupy dry rangelands including coastal scrub, Karoo, and arid thornveld, where they are resident and nomadic, moving when food becomes scarce. The larger Brimstone Canary has a chunkier bill than Yellow Canary and prefers moist coastal thickets and woodland.
Southern Rough-winged Swallow
Stelgidopteryx ruficollis
Plain brownish swallow, common and widespread through the Neotropics. Very similar to Northern Rough-winged Swallow, but look for contrasting pale rump in flight and tawny throat; also, note that ranges only overlap in Central America. Found in open habitats including fields, rivers, and lakes, often in small loose flocks.
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