Grassland yellow finch | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Thraupidae |
Genus: | Sicalis |
Species: | S. luteola |
Binomial name | |
Sicalis luteola (Sparrman, 1789) | |
Synonyms | |
Sicalis luteiventris |
The grassland yellow finch (Sicalis luteola) is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is not a finch, but is a seedeater. These were formerly united with the buntings and American sparrows in the Emberizidae, but are now known to be tanagers.
It is a resident in tropical South America, from Colombia south and east to the Guianas and central Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Birds which breed further south in Argentina and Uruguay migrate to Bolivia and southern Brazil, (the cerrado etc.), in the austral winter. There are also isolated populations in Central America and Mexico. It was discovered on Trinidad in 2004, presumably having colonised from nearby Venezuela. Also known from Barbados, certainly since 1960 if not earlier.
The grassland yellow finch, as its name implies, is found in fields and other open grassland. The female lays 3 brown-speckled pale blue-green eggs in a grassy cup nest in tall grass, and several pairs may breed close to each other in suitable areas.
The grassland yellow finch is about 12 cm long and weighs 13 g. The males have bright yellow underparts and rump, and olive yellow upperparts. The crown and nape have dark streaking, and there is yellow around the eye. Females have dark-streaked pale brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts. The call is a sharp te-tsip, and the male's song, given from a perch or in a display flight, is a series of chips, buzzes and trills.
Grassland yellow finches eat seeds and insects, and are usually seen in pairs or small groups.
The sharp-shinned hawk or northern sharp-shinned hawk, commonly known as a sharpie, is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk, plain-breasted hawk, and rufous-thighed hawk. The American Ornithological Society and some other checklists keeps all four variations conspecific.
The black-faced bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.
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The shiny cowbird is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America except for dense forests and areas of high altitude such as mountains. Since 1900 the shiny cowbird's range has shifted northward, and it was recorded in the Caribbean islands as well as the United States, where it is found breeding in southern Florida. It is a bird associated with open habitats, including disturbed land from agriculture and deforestation.
The white-browed meadowlark is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It was formerly named white-browed blackbird but is not closely related to the red-winged blackbird group.
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The little woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile, Suriname, and Uruguay.
The Drakensberg siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province Transkei and western Natal in South Africa, and in Lesotho.
The Andean siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, and heavily degraded former forest.
The pink-browed rosefinch is a finch in the family Fringillidae. Nicholas Aylward Vigors first described the species in 1831. It is migratory and ranges across the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the Himalayas. It is found in Bhutan, Tibet, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitats are boreal forests, shrub-lands, grasslands, and dry forests.
The white-tailed nightjar is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae. It is found in the tropic regions of Central and South America.
The dark-billed cuckoo is a species of bird in the tribe Phaenicophaeini, subfamily Cuculinae of the cuckoo family Cuculidae. It is regularly found in every mainland South American country except Chile plus the Galápagos Islands. It has also occurred as a vagrant in Chile and several other countries and islands.
The cuckoo-finch, also known as the parasitic weaver or cuckoo weaver, is a small passerine bird now placed in the family Viduidae with the indigobirds and whydahs. It occurs in grassland in Africa south of the Sahara. The male is mainly yellow and green while the female is buff with dark streaks. They lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.
The orange-fronted yellow finch is a species of South American bird in the family Thraupidae. It has a highly disjunct distribution with S. c. columbiana found in Colombia and Venezuela, S. c. goeldii along the Amazon River in Brazil, and S. c. goeldii in east-central Brazil. It is found in semi-open areas, typically near water and sometimes near humans. The male closely resembles the saffron finch, but it is smaller, has a more contrasting orange front, and dusky lores. The female is overall olive-gray with whitish underparts, and yellow to the wings and tail.
The waved woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
The olivaceous piculet is a species of bird in subfamily Picumninae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found from Guatemala south through Central America and western South America to Peru.
The red-stained woodpecker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.