Biology:White-headed brushfinch
| White-headed brushfinch | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Passerellidae |
| Genus: | Atlapetes |
| Species: | A. albiceps
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| Binomial name | |
| Atlapetes albiceps (Taczanowski, 1884)
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The white-headed brushfinch (Atlapetes albiceps) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.[2]
Taxonomy and systematics
The white-headed brushfinch was formally described in 1884 with the binomial Buarremon albiceps.[3] In the early twentieth century genus Buarremon was merged into Atlapetes.[4]
The white-headed brushfinch is monotypic.[2] However, some authors have suggested that the pale-headed brushfinch (A. palidiceps) should be a subspecies of it but they are not closely related.[4]
Description
The white-headed brushfinch is 16 to 17 cm (6.3 to 6.7 in) long.[5] It weighs 35 to 39 g (1.2 to 1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a black crown and nape; the rest of their head including the forecrown is white. Their upperparts are slate gray and their wings and tail are slightly more blackish. Their primaries have white bases that show as a patch on the closed wing. A very thin black line separates their ear coverts from their throat. Their breast and flanks are grayish and their belly and vent white. They have a brown iris, a black bill, and gray legs and feet.[6]
Distribution and habitat
The white-headed brushfinch is found on the Andes' Pacific slope from southern Loja Province in southwestern Ecuador south to Lambayeque and southwestern Cajamarca departments in northern Peru. It inhabits dry deciduous forest, dry scrublands, and gallery forest.[6][5][7] In elevation it ranges between 200 and 1,100 m (700 and 3,600 ft) in Ecuador and up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) in Peru.[5][7]
Behavior
Movement
The white-headed brushfinch is a year-round resident.[1]
Feeding
The white-headed brushfinch's diet has not been studied but is known to include seeds and arthropods. It usually forages in pairs or small groups, on the ground and in low vegetation. It sometimes flocks with other brushfinches.[6][7]
Breeding
Nothing is known about the white-headed brushfinch's breeding biology.[6]
Vocalization
The white-headed brushfinch sings "a series of squeaky whistled notes, for example: PEE-ti-ti SEW-tew'tew'tew see-see". When a pair is excited, they make "a liquid descending chatter with some high screeches and twitters". The species' calls are "a high rising-falling tseeEEee", a "high ti", and "tseeip notes".[5]
Status
The IUCN has assessed the white-headed brushfinch as being of Least Concern. It has a small range; its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered uncommon to locally fairly common in Ecuador and fairly common in Peru.[8][5] "Human activity has little short-term direct effect on the White-headed Brush-Finch, other than the local effects of habitat destruction. Habitat loss is a potentially serious threat, however, given the relatively small distribution of this species, and the heavy land use in this region for agricultural purposes, primarily livestock grazing and subsistence farming."[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 BirdLife International (2024). "White-headed Brushfinch Atlapetes albiceps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22721482A264346912.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22721482/264346912. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds (April 2026). "New World sparrows". https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/sparrows//.
- ↑ Taczanowski, Władysław (1884) (in Latin, French). Ornithologie du Pérou. 2. Typographie Oberthur. p. 533. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14358251. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 February 2026. A classification of the bird species of South America. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved February 28, 2026
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Schulenberg, T.S.; Stotz, D.F.; Lane, D.F.; O'Neill, J.P.; Parker, T.A. III (2010). Birds of Peru. Princeton Field Guides (revised and updated ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 606. ISBN 978-0691130231.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Schulenberg, T. S. and A. Jaramillo (2020). White-headed Brushfinch (Atlapetes albiceps), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbfin1.01 retrieved May 23, 2026
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. pp. 688. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
- ↑ Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Status, Distribution, and Taxonomy. I. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8722-4.
Wikidata ☰ Q2226623 entry
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