Large-footed finch | |
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In Costa Rica | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Passerellidae |
Genus: | Pezopetes Cabanis, 1861 |
Species: | P. capitalis |
Binomial name | |
Pezopetes capitalis Cabanis, 1861 | |
The large-footed finch (Pezopetes capitalis) is a passerine bird endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Despite its name, it is not a true finch, but rather a member of the large family Passerellidae, which also includes American sparrows, juncos and towhees. It is the only member of the genus Pezopetes.
This is a common bird in the undergrowth of mountain forests, second growth, bamboo clumps, and scrubby pastures from 2150 m altitude to the scrubby páramo at 3350 m. It is readily seen in favoured sites such as Cerro de la Muerte.
The nest, built by the female, is a large loose cup of plant material placed less than 2 m up in bamboo or a dense shrub. The typical clutch is one or two brown-marked white or blue-white eggs, which are incubated by the female alone for 12–14 days before hatching.
The large-footed finch is a large, robust terrestrial species, 20 cm (7.9 in) long and weighing 56 g (2.0 oz). It has a slender bill, a modestly sized tail and very large and powerful feet and legs. This species is one of the heaviest in its diverse family. [2] The adult has a slate grey head, becoming black on the throat, forehead and crown sides. The upper parts are dark olive and the wings and tail are black with olive fringes. The underparts are bright olive with a brown tint to the flanks and lower belly. Young birds have a streaked dark olive head, blackish scaling to the upperparts, and buff-olive underparts .
The large-footed finch has a thin seet call, and the male's song, given from the ground or a low perch, consists of a mix or whistles, warbles, chatter and mimicry.
The large-footed finch feeds on insects, spiders, and seeds, extracted from the leaf litter with powerful double scratches that can send debris flying up to 30 cm. It will also pick berries from low bushes. It is normally seen in pairs.
The yellow-bellied siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds from Costa Rica south to southern Ecuador, central Bolivia and the highlands of northwestern Venezuela.
The spotted wood quail is a small ground-dwelling bird in the New World quail family. It is a resident breeder in the mountains of Central America from southern Mexico to western Panama.
The buff-rumped warbler is a New World warbler that is resident from Honduras south to northwestern Peru and disjunctly in the western Amazon. It is found in forests at up to 1500 m altitude, always near water.
The white-whiskered puffbird, also called the white-whiskered soft-wing or brown puffbird, is a near-passerine bird in the family Bucconidae, the puffbirds, nunlets, and nunbirds. It is found from southeastern Mexico through Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador into Peru.
The rufous-and-white wren is a small songbird of the wren family. It is a resident breeding species from southwesternmost Mexico to northern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. It was formerly placed in the genus Thryothorus.
The banded wren is a small songbird of the wren family. It is a resident breeding species from central Mexico to Costa Rica. It was formerly placed in the genus Thryothorus.
The dot-winged antwren or velvety antwren is a passerine bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname.
The black-capped flycatcher is a very small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama.
The tawny-chested flycatcher or Salvin's flycatcher, is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in Caribbean lowlands and foothills up to 1000 m altitude from eastern Nicaragua to northern Costa Rica, although all Nicaraguan records are historical specimens collected near Lake Nicaragua or its outflow.
The black-capped pygmy tyrant is the smallest passerine bird in its range, though larger than its cousin, the short-tailed pygmy tyrant. This tyrant flycatcher occurs from Costa Rica to north-western Ecuador.
The white-eared ground sparrow is a large American sparrow which occurs locally in Middle America, mostly in foothills, from southern Mexico and Guatemala to northern Costa Rica.
The stripe-headed sparrow is an American sparrow which breeds from Pacific coastal south-western Mexico, including the transverse ranges, Cordillera Neovolcanica to Pacific coastal northern Costa Rica.
The yellow-thighed brushfinch is a passerine bird which is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Despite its name, it is not a true finch, but rather a member of the family Passerellidae, which also includes American sparrows, juncos and towhees.
The peg-billed finch is a passerine bird endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Despite its name, it is not a true finch, but now recognized as a member of the tanager family (Thraupidae), after being long placed in the Emberizidae. It is the only member of the genus Acanthidops. The scientific name commemorates the American ornithologist Spencer Fullerton Baird.
The lesser seedcracker or Nyasa seedcracker is a fairly common species of estrildid finch found in eastern Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 925,000 km2 (357,000 sq mi) and is found in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as being of least concern.
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 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 lesser ground cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.
The tawny-winged woodcreeper is a passerine bird in subfamily Dendrocolaptinae of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
The olive finch is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. Until recently, it was placed in the genus Lysurus.