Difference between revisions of "Grassland Yellow Finch" - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Graham Osborne
Aripo Agricultural Research Station, Trinidad, May 2004

Sicalis luteola

Includes: Misto Yellow-Finch

Identification

9·8–12·5 cm (3¾-5 in)

Olive-brown above
Dark streaks on the crown and back
Bright yellow around the eyes and lores
Yellow below with olive breast

Similar Species

luteiventris, Misto Yellow-Finch
Photo by canutus
Pta Rasa, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Both song and behavior when singing will remind a European birder of Tree Pipit.

Distribution

From southern Mexico to South America including Trinidad and parts of the Lesser Antilles.
In South America consists of several allopatric populations in the northern half and another in the south; even though the southern population migrates north in Austral winter, it probably never overlaps with the northern populations in range.

Additionally found naturalized in the Lesser Antilles where it probably was released in Barbados around year 1900 and is now also found in Antigua, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenada, and is a vagrant to the Grenadines. In Trinidad a recent arrival (common since 2004).

Taxonomy

Subspecies luteiventris
Photo by Rodrigo Conte
Brasilia, Brazil, December 2015

Subspecies

There are seven subspecies^[1]:

S. l. chrysops :

Southern Mexico (Veracruz and Chiapas) to Guatemala and north-eastern Honduras

S. l. mexicana:

Pacific slope of southern Mexico (south-western Puebla and Morelos)

S. l. eisenmanni:

Pacific slope of north-western Costa Rica (Guanacaste) and Panama (Coclé)

S. l. bogotensis:

Eastern Andes of Colombia to Venezuela, Ecuador and southern Peru

S. l. luteola:

Western Andes of Colombia to Venezuela, the Guianas and northern Brazil

S. l. flavissima:

Islands at mouth of Amazon River and adjacent Pará

S. l. luteiventris:

Lowlands of southern South America

Luteiventris from southern South America is sometimes split as Misto Yellow-Finch.

Habitat

Wetlands, farmland, tall grassland and beside marshes.

Behaviour

Breeding

They nest on the ground in grass fields which is often raided by predators such as the mongoose and Cattle Egret.

Vocalisation

Voice is similar to that of the Black-faced Grassquit which is a sort of buzz made especially when in flight. Often sings when starting from a perch in a bush or a tall grass and returning to another nearby perch.

References

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/
BF Member Observations
Ridgely and Tudor 2009. Field guide to the songbirds of South America - The Passerines. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71979-8
Raffaele et al. 1998. Birds of the West Indies. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0713649054

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grassland Yellow Finch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grassland_Yellow_Finch

External Links

Search for photos of Grassland Yellow Finch in the gallery

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 Both song and behavior when singing will remind a European birder of [[Tree Pipit]].
 ==Distribution==
-From southern [[Mexico]] to [[South America]] including [[Trinidad]].<br />
+From southern [[Mexico]] to [[South America]] including [[Trinidad]] and parts of the [[Lesser Antilles]].<br />
 In South America consists of several [[Dictionary_A-C#A|allopatric]] populations in the northern half and another in the south; even though the southern population migrates north in Austral winter, it probably never overlaps with the northern populations in range.
-Additionally found naturalized in the [[Lesser Antilles]] where it probably was released in [[Barbados]] around year 1900 and is now also found in [[Antigua]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], [[Saint Lucia]], [[Saint Vincent]] and [[Grenada]], and is a vagrant to the Grenadines.
+Additionally found naturalized in the [[Lesser Antilles]] where it probably was released in [[Barbados]] around year 1900 and is now also found in [[Antigua]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[Martinique]], [[Saint Lucia]], [[Saint Vincent]] and [[Grenada]], and is a vagrant to the Grenadines. In Trinidad a recent arrival (common since 2004).
 ==Taxonomy==