From Opus

Photo of male by Stanley Jones
Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, March, 2006

Tiaris olivaceus

[edit] Identification

Length: 10.0-10.7 cm; weight: 9.5-10.0 g

• Conical bill, sharper than that of the related seedeaters
  

Adult male

• Olive-green back
• Black face and breast
• Bright yellow throat, supercilium, and lower eyelid spot
• Greyish-olive underparts
  

Adult female

• Dull olive-green upperparts
• Paler grey underparts
• Dark breast smudges may be visible
• The face pattern is much weaker and duller, and may be almost invisible
  

Young birds: duller and greyer than the female
Young males: begin to acquire full adult plumage in their first year.

[edit] Distribution

Photo by COLOMBIA birding
Photo taken: W. Andes

Central and South America and the Caribbean
Central America: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, uas Caribbean (West Indies): Greater Antilles, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Haiti, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico
South America: Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• T. o. pusillus:

• Gulf lowlands of eastern Mexico to Colombia and western Venezuela

• T. o. intermedius:

• Cozumel Island and Holbox Island (off Yucatan Peninsula)

Female
Photo by Stanley Jones
Road to Rincon de la Vieja towards Dos Rios, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, November 2011

• T. o. ravidus:

• Isla Coiba (Panama)

• T. o. olivaceus:

• Cuba, Isle of Pines, Jamaica and Cayman Islands

• T. o. bryanti:

• Puerto Rico

The scientific name has been spelled olivacea in the past.

[edit] Habitat

Rain forest, open grassy areas, woodlands and grassland. Observed at heights around 275 meters.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

They feed mainly on seeds (mostly grass), berries and some insects.

[edit] Breeding

The female builds the globular nest, which is formed from stems of grass and weeds. They sometimes nest in loose colonies. The clutch consists of two or three brown-speckled white eggs, which are incubated by the female alone for 12-14 days to hatching.

[edit] Vocalisation

Call: a weak buzzing trilled ttttt-tee
The male vibrates his wings as he sings to the female from only a few centimetres away.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Avibase
3. everything.explained

• List of references

[edit] External Links