Chestnut-capped Brushfinch
Arremon brunneinucha
Fairly stocky, sparrowlike bird of highland forests. Occurs mainly in humid evergreen and pine-oak forest understory, often in brushy flower banks and shady canyons, where typically skulking and difficult to see well. Feeds on or near the ground, usually in pairs. White throat stands out against black cheeks and narrow black breast band (birds of Sierra de Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, lack breast band); also note narrow tawny eyebrow and dark rusty cap. Collared Towhee is larger and brighter with big black collar and whitish eyebrow.
Identification
The chestnut-capped brushfinch is a large, robust, mainly terrestrial species, 19 cm long and weighing 45 g. It has a long slender bill and large feet and legs. The adult has a distinctive head pattern, with a yellow-edged chestnut crown and nape, black forehead and head sides, white spots in the centre and each side of the forehead, and a white throat which is often puffed up when the bird is excited. The upperparts are dark olive, with darker wings. The white central breast is separated from the white throat by a black band. The breast sides are grey, and the flanks and lower belly are olive-green. Young birds have a sooty-brown cap, sooty face and olive-brown upperparts, throat and breast.<p>The chestnut-capped brushfinch has a thin pink call and a very high-pitched psssst. The male's song consists of a mixture of whistles and sharper notes.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Arremon brunneinucha
- Authority
- (Lafresnaye, 1839)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Arremon
Range and habitat
This is a common bird in the undergrowth of wet mountain forests, second growth, and ravines at from 900 m to 250 m altitude. It breeds in highlands from central Mexico to south-eastern Peru.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The nest, built by the female, is a large cup of plant material placed less than 2.5 m up in a shrub or small tree in dense scrub or a ravine. The typical clutch is two glossy, unmarked white or pale blue eggs, which are incubated by the female alone for 12–14 days before hatching.<p>The chestnut-capped brushfinch feeds on insects and spiders extracted from the leaf litter with its bill, and will also pick berries and invertebrate prey from low bushes. It is seen in pairs or family parties.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Formicarius rufifrons
Range-restricted antthrush of river’s-edge habitats and bamboo. Grayish brown, with an orange forehead. Found in successional forest with dense understory, including areas with bamboo or dense heliconia thickets. Listen for its song, a long, rising-falling series of musical whistles. Voice is similar to the slower song of Buff-throated Woodcreeper, but ascends faster in the middle of the song.
Rufous-crowned Emuwren
Stipiturus ruficeps
Tiny buff-brown bird with enormously long, fine tail, found in arid parts of inland Australia. Crown a clean, rich brown, with streaked back, wings, and cheek; underparts buffy brown. Males have a sky-blue throat and upper breast. Tail is much longer and far more spindly than tail of fairywrens. The trick to finding this shy species is to find large unburned patches of spinifex, listening carefully for the species’ very thin, faint calls.
Pale-billed Sicklebill
Drepanornis bruijnii
A large, long-billed bird of lowland forest. Brown upperparts with black head and grayish facial skin behind the eye. Note the curved, pale bill. Male has a black throat, sides and two small, hornlike tufts on the head. Female has pale underparts with dark barring. Similar to female Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise and Magnificent Riflebird, but female Pale-billed Sicklebill has a longer, thinner, more curved bill. One of several vocalizations, a descending series of low whistles, reminiscent of Common Potoo.
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