Sporophila
Encyclopedia
Sporophila is a genus of Neotropical bird
s in the Thraupidae family. The seed finches
are sometimes also included in this genus.
They are relatively small with stubby, conical bills adapted for feeding on seeds and alike. Most species are strongly sexually dimorphic, and while "typical" adult males often are distinctive, female and immatures of both sexes can be very difficult (in some species virtually impossible) to identify to exact species. Females of at least some of these species have different ultraviolet
colours, which can be seen by birds, but not humans. Female-like (paedomorphic) males apparently also occur, at least in some species.
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 in the Thraupidae family. The seed finches
Oryzoborus
Oryzoborus is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae, and some have argued for merging it into Sporophila....
are sometimes also included in this genus.
They are relatively small with stubby, conical bills adapted for feeding on seeds and alike. Most species are strongly sexually dimorphic, and while "typical" adult males often are distinctive, female and immatures of both sexes can be very difficult (in some species virtually impossible) to identify to exact species. Females of at least some of these species have different ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
colours, which can be seen by birds, but not humans. Female-like (paedomorphic) males apparently also occur, at least in some species.
Species
There are more than 30 species of Sporophila:- Buffy-fronted SeedeaterBuffy-fronted SeedeaterThe Buffy-fronted Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:*...
, Sporophila frontalis - Temminck's SeedeaterTemminck's SeedeaterTemminck's Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife...
, Sporophila falcirostris - Slate-colored Seedeater, Sporophila schistacea
- Plumbeous SeedeaterPlumbeous SeedeaterThe Plumbeous Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela....
, Sporophila plumbea - Caqueta SeedeaterCaquetá SeedeaterThe Caquetá Seedeater is a passerine bird from the western Amazon Basin in south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, north-eastern Peru and far western Brazil . The status in south-eastern Peru is unclear. Together with the mainly Central American S. corvina, it was formerly considered a...
, Sporophila murallae - Gray Seedeater, Sporophila intermedia
- Wing-barred SeedeaterWing-barred SeedeaterThe Wing-barred Seedeater is a passerine bird from coastal regions of north-eastern South America in north-eastern Venezuela, the Guianas, Amapá and north-eastern Pará , Brazil, and along the Amazon River upstream to around Manaus...
, Sporophila americana - Variable SeedeaterVariable SeedeaterThe Variable Seedeater, Sporophila corvina, is a passerine bird which breeds from southern Mexico through Central America to the Chocó of north-western South America. The taxonomy is confusing, and it was formerly considered a subspecies of Sporophila americana...
, Sporophila corvina - White-collared SeedeaterWhite-collared SeedeaterThe White-collared Seedeater is a passerine bird in the typical seedeater genus Sporophila.-Taxonomy:The subspecies S. t...
, Sporophila torqueola - Rusty-collared SeedeaterRusty-collared SeedeaterThe Rusty-collared Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family, formerly placed in the related Emberizidae.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay...
, Sporophila collaris - Lesson's SeedeaterLesson's SeedeaterLesson's Seedeater is a bird species in the family Thraupidae .It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela...
, Sporophila bouvronides - Lined SeedeaterLined SeedeaterThe Lined Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela...
, Sporophila lineola - Black-and-white SeedeaterBlack-and-white SeedeaterThe Black-and-white Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela....
, Sporophila luctuosa - Yellow-bellied SeedeaterYellow-bellied SeedeaterThe Yellow-bellied Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family, formerly placed with the American sparrows in the Emberizidae....
, Sporophila nigricollis - Dubois' Seedeater, Sporophila ardesiaca – possibly a subspecies or color morphPolymorphism (biology)Polymorphism in biology occurs when two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species — in other words, the occurrence of more than one form or morph...
of S. nigricollis - Hooded SeedeaterHooded SeedeaterThe Hooded Seedeater is a mysterious bird from Brazil from the genus of typical seedeaters . It is only known by the male holotype from 1823....
, Sporophila melanops – possibly extinct (20th century?), a hybrid or a color morph of S. nigricollis - Double-collared SeedeaterDouble-collared SeedeaterThe Double-collared Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family, the sparrows, New World sparrows, seedeaters, etc...
, Sporophila caerulescens - White-throated SeedeaterWhite-throated SeedeaterThe White-throated Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is endemic to Brazil.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.-References:* BirdLife International 2004....
, Sporophila albogularis - Drab SeedeaterDrab SeedeaterThe Drab Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Ecuador and Peru.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. ...
, Sporophila simplex - White-bellied SeedeaterWhite-bellied SeedeaterThe White-bellied Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Suriname....
, Sporophila leucoptera - Parrot-billed SeedeaterParrot-billed SeedeaterThe Parrot-billed Seedeater is a small species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is found in various shrubby habitats in western Ecuador and western Peru. Outside the breeding season, it is quite social and frequently seen in flocks with other small seed-eating birds.-References:* BirdLife...
, Sporophila peruviana - Black-and-tawny SeedeaterBlack-and-tawny SeedeaterThe Black-and-tawny Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Bolivia and Brazil. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International 2006. . Downloaded...
, Sporophila nigrorufa - Capped SeedeaterCapped SeedeaterThe Capped Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.-References:...
, Sporophila bouvreuil - Ruddy-breasted SeedeaterRuddy-breasted SeedeaterThe Ruddy-breasted Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.Its natural habitats are dry savanna,...
, Sporophila minuta - Tawny-bellied SeedeaterTawny-bellied SeedeaterThe Tawny-bellied Seedeater is a bird species in the family Thraupidae . It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay....
, Sporophila hypoxantha - Dark-throated SeedeaterDark-throated SeedeaterThe Dark-throated Seedeater is a bird species in the family Thraupidae . It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay....
, Sporophila ruficollis - Marsh SeedeaterMarsh SeedeaterThe Marsh Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family. It is sexually dichromic, with the males sporting a bright white throat, grey crown and chestnut belly, and the females resembling other brown female seedeaters.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay...
, Sporophila palustris - Chestnut-bellied SeedeaterChestnut-bellied SeedeaterThe Chestnut-bellied Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela....
, Sporophila castaneiventris - Gray-and-chestnut Seedeater, Sporophila hypochroma
- Chestnut SeedeaterChestnut SeedeaterThe Chestnut Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland....
, Sporophila cinnamomea - Narosky's Seedeater, Sporophila zelichi – probably a color morph of the Marsh Seedeater
- Black-bellied SeedeaterBlack-bellied SeedeaterThe Black-bellied Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is endemic to Brazil.Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and swamps.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Sporophila melanogaster - Chestnut-throated SeedeaterChestnut-throated SeedeaterThe Chestnut-throated Seedeater is a species of bird in the Thraupidae family.It is found in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru....
, Sporophila telasco – the "Tumaco Seedeater" is a stereotyped hybrid between this species and S. minuta