Sooty-faced Finch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Stanley Jones
Trail of Falls at La Paz Waterfall Gardens and Peace Lodge, Costa Rica, March, 2006

Alternative names: Sooty-faced Brush-Finch; Barranca Finch; Barranca Brush-Finch

Arremon crassirostris

Lysurus crassirostris

Identification

15 - 17.1cm. A fairly large finch.

• Blackish-grey head with rusty crown and white submoustachial stripe
• Dark olive-green upperparts with slightly browner upperwings and tail
• Dark olive-green underparts with yellow lower breast and belly

Sexes similar. Juveniles are rich olive-brown above and have a dull yellow centre of belly.

Distribution

Found in the mountain forests of Costa Rica and western Panama. The population at Cerro Tacaruna in extreme eastern Panama and adjacent western Colombia, which is usually considered part of this species, is, however, genetically closer to Olive Finch Arremon castaneiceps.
An uncommon and local restricted-range species, difficult to find.

Taxonomy

Placed in genus Lysurus by some authorities.

Subspecies

This is a monotypic species.

Habitat

Dense undergrowth of wet forests.
Occurs at 600m to 2340m.

Behaviour

Feeds on insects and spiders, takes also berries.
Forages near or on the ground, hopping and flicking its wings and tail. Follows sometimes army ants.
One active nest was found in May. It builds a nest with a side entrance, lined with fern, moss and leaves. Two short-oval shaped, ivory-coloured with pink spots eggs are laid.
A sedentary species.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2011. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553781

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Sooty-faced Finch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Sooty-faced_Finch

External Links

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