Moustached Brushfinch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Digitalbcon
Chicaque Natural Reserve, Colombia, July 2008

Atlapetes albofrenatus

Includes Merida Brushfinch

Identification

18 cm. Rufous colored nape and crown. Black forehead, sides of head, neck with a thin white stripe just above the neck (forming the trademark moustache streak). Olive green upper body with a white throat and yellow underparts fading into olive tail parts.

Distribution

Colombia and Venezuela.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies recognized:

• A. a. albofrenatus in the eastern Andes of Colombia
• A. a. meridae in the Andes of western Venezuela - split as Merida Brushfinch by Gill and Donsker

Habitat

Moist montanes.

Behaviour

Rapid movement from undergrowth, vines and brush to the upper levels of medium growth trees and shrubs in search of grubs and larvae as primary food source.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2016. IOC World Bird Names (version 6.1). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Moustached Brushfinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Moustached_Brushfinch

External Links

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