Black-faced grassquit

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Black-faced grassquit
Black-faced grassquit (Tiaris bicolor) male.jpg
Male, Jamaica
Black-faced grassquit (Tiaris bicolor) female.jpg
Female, Jamaica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Melanospiza
Species:
M. bicolor
Binomial name
Melanospiza bicolor
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Melanospiza bicolor map.svg
Synonyms
  • Fringilla bicolorLinnaeus, 1766
  • Melanospiza bicolor(Linnaeus, 1766)

The black-faced grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor) is a small bird. It is recognized as a tanager closely related to Darwin's finches. It breeds in the West Indies except Cuba, on Tobago but not Trinidad, and along the northern coasts of Colombia and Venezuela.

Contents

Taxonomy

The first formal description of the black-faced grassquit was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae . He introduced the binomial name Fringilla bicolor. [2] Linnaeus based his description on the "Bahama Sparrow" that was described and illustrated by Mark Catesby in his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands which was published between 1729 and 1732. [3] The black-faced grassquit was traditionally placed in the genus Tiaris . [4] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that this genus was polyphyletic and that the black-faced grassquit was closely related to the Saint Lucia black finch in the monospecific genus Melanospiza . [5] In the resulting reorganization of the genera, the black-faced grassquit was moved to Melanospiza. [6] [7]

An adult female Black-faced Grassquit female RWD.jpg
An adult female

Eight subspecies are recognised: [7]

Description

A male black-faced grassquits is around 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs approximately 10 g (0.35 oz). It has a short conical black bill, a black head and breast with an olive green back. Females and immature birds have dull olive-grey upperparts and head, and paler grey underparts becoming whiter on the belly. [8]

Males on the South American mainland have more extensively black underparts, shading to a grey belly.[ citation needed ]

The male has a display flight in which he flies for short distances, vibrating his wings and giving a buzzing dik-zeezeezee call. [8]

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

This is a common bird in long grass or scrub in open or semi-open areas, including roadsides and ricefields. It makes a domed grass nest, lined with finer grasses, and placed low in a bush or on a bank. The typical clutch is two or three whitish eggs blotched with reddish brown. [8]

Food and feeding

The black-faced grassquit feeds mainly on seeds, especially of grasses and weeds, occasionally on fruits and berries. [9] It also feeds on small insects, mainly during the breeding season. [9] It is often found in small groups. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanager</span> Family of birds

The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropical birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer tanager</span> Species of bird

The summer tanager is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), it and other members of its genus are now classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-black grassquit</span> Species of bird

The blue-black grassquit is a small Neotropical bird in the tanager family, Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Volatinia. It is a common and widespread bird that breeds from southern Mexico through Central America, and South America as far as northern Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay, and in Trinidad and Tobago. A male was also observed in Graham County, Arizona on July 15 and July 17, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turquoise tanager</span> Species of bird

The turquoise tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is a resident bird from Trinidad, much of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia. It is restricted to areas with humid forest, with its primary distribution being the Amazon. It was formerly treated as being conspecific with the white-bellied tanager which is found in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green honeycreeper</span> Species of bird

The green honeycreeper is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. It is the only member of the genus Chlorophanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue grosbeak</span> Species of bird

The blue grosbeak, is a medium-sized North American passerine bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. The male is blue with two brown wing bars. The female is mainly brown with scattered blue feathers on the upperparts and two brown wing bars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grass-green tanager</span> Species of bird

The grass-green tanager is a small South America bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Chlorornis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-faced grassquit</span> Species of bird

The yellow-faced grassquit is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus Tiaris. It is native to the Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

<i>Loxigilla</i> Genus of birds

Loxigilla is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. The two species are both endemic to the Lesser Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Antillean bullfinch</span> Species of bird

The Greater Antillean bullfinch is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-shouldered grassquit</span> Species of bird in the family Thraupidae.

The yellow-shouldered grassquit is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae that is endemic to Jamaica. It is the only member of the genus Loxipasser. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban bullfinch</span> Species of bird

The Cuban bullfinch is a species of songbird belonging to the genus Melopyrrha. It is a member of the tanager family Thraupidae falls under the subfamily Coerebinae, which also includes Darwin's finches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-bellied seed finch</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-bellied seed finch is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, but was until recently placed in Emberizidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flame-crested tanager</span> Species of bird

The flame-crested tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical dry shrubland. Ten subspecies are currently recognized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulvous-crested tanager</span> Species of bird

The fulvous-crested tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnished-buff tanager</span> Species of bird

The burnished-buff tanager, also known as the rufous-crowned tanager, is a common South American species of bird in the family Thraupidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-capped tanager</span> Species of bird

The blue-capped tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It was formerly placed in the genus Thraupis but is now the only species in the genus Sporathraupis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban grassquit</span> Species of bird

The Cuban grassquit is a small bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Cuba.

Grassquits are small tropical birds currently placed in the tanager family, Thraupidae, although they had earlier been thought to be of the family Emberizidae. They are common in the West Indies and in Central and South American countries around the Caribbean Sea.

<i>Asemospiza</i> Genus of birds

Asemospiza is a genus of South American birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Melanospiza bicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22723611A132167813. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22723611A132167813.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 324.
  3. ↑ Catesby, Mark (1729–1732). The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (in English and French). Vol. 1. London: W. Innys and R. Manby. p. 37, Plate 37.
  4. ↑ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 156.
  5. ↑ Burns, K.J.; Shultz, A.J.; Title, P.O.; Mason, N.A.; Barker, F.K.; Klicka, J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Lovette, I.J. (2014). "Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75: 41–77. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006. PMID   24583021.
  6. ↑ Burns, K.J.; Unitt, P.; Mason, N.A. (2016). "A genus-level classification of the family Thraupidae (Class Aves: Order Passeriformes)". Zootaxa. 4088 (3): 329–354. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4088.3.2. PMID   27394344.
  7. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Rising, J.D. (2020). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Black-faced Grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor), version 1.0" . Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.bkfgra.01. S2CID   216425936 . Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  9. 1 2 Hailey, Adrian (ed.). "Tiaris bicolor (Black-faced Grassquit)" (PDF). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. St. Augustine: Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine.
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