Yellow-bellied seedeater

Yellow-bellied seedeater
Male in Ecuador
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Thraupidae
Genus:	Sporophila
Species:	S. nigricollis
Binomial name
Sporophila nigricollis (Vieillot, 1823)
Synonyms
Sporophila melanops(Pelzeln, 1870)

The yellow-bellied seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed with the New World sparrows in the Emberizidae.

Taxonomy and systematics

"Hooded seedeater"

The "hooded seedeater" was a proposed bird species described by Austrian ornithologist August von Pelzeln as Spermophila melanops in 1870. The only known individual was heavily moulted and caught in October 1823 from a flock of other seedeater species at the edge of a lake 15 kilometres north of Registro do Araguaia, Brazil. It is now considered to be either an abnormal specimen of the yellow-bellied seedeater or a hybrid. The bird had a black crest and throat, the upperparts were olive, and the underparts showed a dingy buff. In contrast, a typical yellow-bellied seedeater has pale yellow underparts and the black colouring extends to the upper breast.

Distribution and habitat

The yellow-bellied seedeater is found in Central and South America from Costa Rica to Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, pastureland, and heavily degraded former forest.

Threats

One study in Brazil estimated that 16,800 yellow-bellied seedeaters are illegally caught and sold as pets annually. ^[2]

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Sporophila nigricollis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T105963139A94817710. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T105963139A94817710.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Regueira, R. F. S., & Bernard, E. (2012). Wildlife sinks: Quantifying the impact of illegal bird trade in street markets in Brazil. Biological Conservation, 149(1), 16–22.