Stripe-headed Brush Finch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Gary Clark.
Location: Tandayapa Valley, Ecuador.

Arremon torquatus

Buarremon torquatus

Identification

All forms have partly to mostly white underparts.

Variation

The different forms described in Taxonomy differ both in coloration, bill shape, and voice.

Distribution

Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy

Stripe-headed Brush Finch has in the past been placed in genus Atlapetes and is also placed in Buarremon by some authorities.

Fourteen subspecies are recognized¹.

• A. t. costaricensis
• A. t. tacarcunae
• A. t. atricapillus
• A. t. basilicus
• A. t. perijanus
• A. t. larensis
• A. t. phaeopleurus
• A. t. phygas
• A. t. assimilis
• A. t. nigrifrons
• A. t. poliophrys
• A. t. torquatus
• A. t. fimbriatus
• A. t. borelli

A recent proposal to the SACC would split this into eight species: A. costaricensis - Gray-striped Brush Finch, A. atricapillus - Black-headed Brush Finch (including tacarcunae), A. basilicus - Sierra Nevada Brush Finch, A. perijanus - Perija Brush Finch, A. assimilis (including larensis, assimilis, nigrifrons, and poliophrys) - Gray-browed Brush Finch, A. torquatus (including torquatus, fimbriatus, and borelli) - White-browed Brush Finch, A. phaeopleurus - Caracas Brush Finch, and A. phygas - Paria Brush Finch.

Habitat

Moist lowland forests and montanes.

Behaviour

Usually fouraging on ground or very low in undergrowth.

References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
2. Birdforum thread discussing the proposal to split this species

External Links

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