Photo © by Raul Padilla
San Bartolo Tutotepec, Mexico, 5 March 2016
- Atlapetes albinucha
Includes Yellow-throated Brush-Finch
Identification
17–21 cm (6¾-8¼ in)
Two different groups:
White-naped BrushFinch
Upperside dark gray to black, head with white stripe on central crown down to start of nape. Underside yellow, becoming more dusky towards the rear.
Yellow-throated BrushFinch
Photo © by PanamaHarpy
Boquete, Panama, 17 August 2011
Differs from the White-naped type in having yellow limited to the throat; the rest of the underside varies from pale gray washed brownish on flanks to white washed with olive.
Distribution
Central and South America: From Mexico to Colombia and northernmost Ecuador.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 8 subspecies[1] in two groups, which differ remarkably and are sometimes treated as two species:
White-naped Brush-Finch
- A.a. albinucha:
Yellow-throated Brush-Finch
This form is found from southern Mexico to Panama and Colombia.
- A.a. gutturalis (if considered a full species, this is the nominate subspecies of the species Atlapetes gutturalis):
- A.a. griseipectus:
- Pacific slope of southern Mexico (Chiapas) to western Guatemala and El Salvador
- A.a. fuscipygius:
- Highlands of Honduras to north-western El Salvador and north-western Nicaragua
- A.a. parvirostris:
- Subtropical Costa Rica
- A.a. brunnescens:
- Subtropical western Panama (western Chiriquí)
- A.a. coloratus:
- Subtropical western Panama (eastern Chiriquí and Veraguas)
- A.a. azuerensis:
- Western Panama (Azuero Peninsula)
Habitat
Forest edge, clearings, and high-altitude shrubland, sometimes in areas best described as cloud forest. In Mexico often in areas with mixture of pine and other trees. Often described as preferring the thickest undergrowth.
Behaviour
Likes to keep hidden except when singing, and probably not easy to see even then. Not a tremendously active bird. The White-naped Brushfinch moves, or hops, around on the ground looking on , or under, leaves they find on the ground as they look for food. They also look for food on brush close to the ground.
Diet
They eat a variety of seeds and insects which are to be found on or near the ground. And may be found hopping on the ground following swarms of army ants.
Breeding
This species uses various dry vegetable materials to build a nest without a top covering and lines it with additional material more suited to cushioning the eggs. . It's placed around a half meter to as much as 3 meters above the ground in in heavier brush or occasionally on the earth. The clutch generally consists of two to three white eggs. Times of this process vary from April to September depending on the location.
Vocalisations
A series of about 6 notes given in a measured, steady pace.
References
- 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/
- Ridgely & Gwynne 1989. Birds of Panama. Princeton Paperbacks. ISBN 0691025126
- Howell & Webb, 1995. A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198540124
- Rising, J. D. (2020). White-naped Brushfinch (Atlapetes albinucha), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wnbfin1.01
- Rising, J. D. (2020). White-naped Brushfinch (Atlapetes albinucha), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wnbfin1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) White-naped Brushfinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-naped_Brushfinch
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
