Compsospiza
Encyclopedia
Compsospiza is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

s known as mountain-finches (a name shared with several other species such as Poospiza caesar and Leucosticte). The two species were previously included in the genus Poospiza
Poospiza
Poospiza is a genus of finch-like tanagers found in both the South American lowlands and the Andes mountains. Generally they are arboreal feeders in light woodland and scrub...

, but in 2009 the South American Classification Committee unanimously agreed to resurrect Compsospiza based on plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...

, ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

, morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....

 and genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 evidence. They are restricted to shrubby woodland in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

 and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, and both have a grey and rufous plumage.

Species

  • Cochabamba Mountain-finch
    Cochabamba Mountain-finch
    The Cochabamba Mountain-finch is an endangered species of bird that is endemic to the Cochabamba Department of central Bolivia. Together with the closely related Tucuman Mountain-finch, it was formerly placed in the genus Poospiza.-Description:The Cochabamba Mountain-finch is a small sparrow-like...

    , Compsospiza garleppi
  • Tucuman Mountain-finch
    Tucumán Mountain-finch
    The Tucumán Mountain-finch is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is endemic to shrubby woodland in the Andes of north-western Argentina, but it is possible its distribution extends marginally into adjacent Bolivia. Together with the closely related Cochabamba Mountain-finch, it was...

    , Compsospiza baeri
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