SPARROWS AND FINCHES   -   EMBERIZIDAE   -   PART I

Rufous-collared Sparrow Zonotrichia capensis costaricensis RNA Arrierito Antioqueño, Anorí, Antioquia department, Colombia. A fitting start to the family, one of the most common and familiar birds of the neotropics, from southern Mexico to Tierra del Fuego.

Grassland Sparrow Ammodramus humeralis xanthornis(?) Reserva Ecologica de Guapi Assu, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil.

Blue Finch Porphyrospiza caerulescens Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. An odd, beautiful "finch" of cerrado of Bolivia and Brazil. It might not actually be a finch; some ornithologists place it in the Cardinalidae.

Plumbeous Sierra-Finch Phrygilus unicolor geospizopsis Antisana reserve, Napo province, Ecuador. Female.

Red-backed Sierra-Finch Phrygilus dorsalis Sierra de Santa Victoria, Salta province, Argentina.

Cinereous Finch Piezorhina cinerea Bosque de Pomac, Lambayeque department, Peru. Endemic to dry scrub and woodland of NW Peru, though there is one unconfirmed record from southern Ecuador.

Little Inca-Finch Incaspiza watkinsi A few km west of Bagua Grande, Amazonas department, Peru. One of the five Incaspiza finches, all of which are endemic to Peru.		Cinereous Warbling-Finch Poospiza cinerea Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Perhaps the plainest member of this genus, which is better known for colorful and ornate finches of the southern Andes and the Atlantic Forest. This species is endemic to interior SE Brazil, usually  in cerrado.

Citron-headed Yellow-Finch Sicalis luteocephala Yavi, Jujuy province, Argentina. Near endemic to the Andes of Bolivia, just barely getting into northern Argentina.

Greenish Yellow-Finch Sicalis olivascens olivascens Tilcara, Jujuy province, Argentina. Male.		Greenish Yellow-Finch Sicalis olivascens olivascens Tilcara, Jujuy province, Argentina. Female.

Pale-throated Pampa-Finch Embernagra longicauda Chapada Diamantina, Bahia state, Brazil. Another Brazilian endemic, found in interior mountain ranges from Bahia to Minas Gerais.		Pale-throated Pampa-Finch Embernagra longicauda Serra de Cipó, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Yellow-bellied Seedeater Sporophila nigricollis vivida Tandayapa Valley, Pichincha province, Ecuador. Female or juv. male. ID not 100% certain, as Black-and-white Seedeater (S. luctuosa) does occasionally turn up in the Tandayapa Valley, and females are essentially identical. It's a gruesome shot, but certainly demonstrates how ticks are a lot more than just a minor nuisance to a bird weighing only 10 g.

Yellow-bellied Seedeater Sporophila nigricollis nigricollis Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Male. This bird was perched in the same bush as the one in the next photo. See the discussion there.		Dubois's Seedeater Sporophila ardesiaca Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Rasmus Boegh told me that this bird is a Dubois's Seedeater due to the lack yellow on the belly, the gray back, and the black hood extending onto the nape. However he also said that ardesiaca may not even be a valid taxon, since its voice is identical to nigricollis.

White-throated Seedeater Sporophila albogularis Jeremoaba-Canudos road, Bahia state, Brazil. Male. This attractive seedeater is endemic to NE Brazil.		White-bellied Seadeater Sporophila leucoptera cinereola(?) Serra da Canastra NP, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Male, with a Yellow-bellied Seedeater (S. nigricollis) in the background.

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