Saffron Finch

Male
Photo by creaturesnapper
Puembo, Ecuador,June, 2018

Sicalis flaveola

Identification

Length 13·5–15 cm (5¼-6 in)
Male

• Bright yellow overall plumage
• Orange crown
• Black edges to back and flight feathers
• Dark eyes
• Greyish-pink legs
• Greyish-black upper mandible
• Ivory lower mandible
  

Female: Heavily streaked with edges of primaries and tail yellow.
Immature: Same as female.

Female
Photo by Stanley Jones
South Wild, Pantanal, south of Poconê, Mato Grosso, Brazil, August 2015

Distribution

South America: found from eastern Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, north-eastern and south-eastern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and northern Argentina

This species has been introduced via the cage-bird trade to several other tropical areas (Panama, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, etc.).

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized¹:

• S. f. flaveola:

• Tropical eastern Colombia to Venezuela and the Guianas; winters to Trinidad

• S. f. valida:

• Pacific lowlands of Ecuador to north-western Peru (Ancash)

Juvenile
Photo by DABS
Mount Hope, Trinidad, November 2016

• S. f. brasiliensis:

Tropical north-eastern Brazil (Maranhão, Minas Gerais and São Paulo)

• S. f. pelzelni:

• East Bolivia to Paraguay, south-eastern Brazil, Uruguay and northern Argentina

Some sources also recognize koenigi².

Habitat

They use a wide variety of habitats, open lowlands with trees and shrubs. Towns, parks, farms.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of seeds, with the addition of some arthropods. They feed on the ground, including town gardens.

Breeding

They are cavity nesters. The clutch consists of 3-5 eggs which are incubated by the female alone for 14 days. The young are fed by both parents and fledge at around 2 weeks old.

See also the note under this image: http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/214292

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2016)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Saffron Finch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Saffron_Finch

External Links

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