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Identificazione

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.

Tassonomia

Nome scientifico

Zonotrichia capensis

Autorità

(Müller, PLS, 1776)

Ordine

Passeriformi

Famiglia

Passerellidae

Genere

Zonotrichia

Areale e 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.

Migrazione

Complete migrants

Conservazione

Tendenza della popolazione

rising