Alternative name: White-winged Diuca Finch
- Idiopsar speculifer
Diuca speculifera
Chionodacryon speculiferum
Identification
17·5–19 cm (6¾-7½ in) Grey above, black wings, white crescent below the eye, white patch on the wing and a white throat; the edges of the tail are also white.
Similar species
Diuca Finch at much lower elevation lacks the white crescent under the eye. White-throated Sierra-Finch lacks white in tail and wings.
Distribution
South America: found in Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.
Taxonomy
This species used to be placed in genus Diuca but was found to not be closely related to Diuca Finch.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized[1]:
- I. s. magnirostris:
- Andes of central Peru (Ancash and Junín)
- I. s. speculifera:
Habitat
They breed in alpine crags and glaciers, using bofedal marshes for foraging.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet is not well know, but probably includes seeds and arthropods. Feeds on the ground.
Breeding
Can nest at really high elevations. They construct a bulky nest from grass and twigs with a deep cup. They time their breeding effort for the end of the wet season.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Ridgely and Tudor 2009. Field guide to the songbirds of South America - The Passerines. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71979-8
- Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Glacier Finch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Glacier_Finch
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
