Pectoral Sparrow - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Francisco Paludo
Arajara Park, Barbalha, CE, Brasil, July 2017

Arremon taciturnus

Identification

15 cm (6 in)
Male: The breast band is complete in most individuals of the nominate subspecies, but there is variation. Mandible is black in the nominate form, but yellow in the northern birds. The nominate form has narrow and pale grey flanks, while these are darker and wider in northern birds. The shoulder area of the wing is yellow.
Female: lacks breast band in the nominate form, but may show trace of breast band elsewhere.

Similar Species

Half-collared Sparrow is very similar but never shows the yellow shoulder; it is found south of but adjacent to the nominate form of Pectoral Sparrow which differ in flank color, mandible color, and in having a complete breast band (but Half-collared Sparrow is, except for lacking the yellow shoulder, more similar in plumage to the northern forms of Pectoral Sparrow).

Distribution

South America: found in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.

Taxonomy

Half-collared Sparrow was considered a subspecies of Pectoral Sparrow by some authorities.

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

• A. t. axillaris:

• Colombia (east of the Andes) and adjacent western Venezuela

• A. t. taciturnus:

• Eastern Colombia to southern Venezuela, the Guianas and Amazonian Brazil

• A. t. nigrirostris:

• Tropical south-eastern Peru to northern Bolivia and north-western Argentina

Habitat

Lowlands; where adjacent to Half-collared Sparrow, Pectoral Sparrow tends to be found at lower elevation.

Behaviour

Diet

Their is little information about their diet, but it is likely to consist of seeds and arthropods. They forage on the ground in the undergrowth and among shrubs.

Breeding

Their nest is a ball constructed from grasses, with a side entrance. It is placed in a low shrub or bottom of a palm.

Vocalization

Tends to start with some thin tseet notes followed by three drawn out notes of a screechy quality^[2].

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

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  Photo by Juan J. Culasso
  Santa Teresa, ES - Brazil, December 2010

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. SACC proposal to split Half-collared Sparrow from Pectoral Sparrow
3. Avibase
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Oct 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pectoral Sparrow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pectoral_Sparrow

External Links

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