Thick-billed Seed-Finch

Sporophila funerea

The thick-billed seed finch is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, but was until recently placed in Emberizidae. It is found widely in shrubby and grassy areas from southern Mexico, through Central America, to the Chocó in Colombia and Ecuador.
Thick-billed seed finch Male. Grasslands by Arenal Volcan. April, 2014. Costa Rica,Geotagged,Oryzoborus funereus,Spring,Thick-billed seed finch

Appearance

The male is almost entirely black, with a small white wing patch. The female is a rich brown all over. They are both very similar to the all-black Caribbean slope form of the variable seedeater. It is distinguished, however, by a larger bill with a straight culmen. They measure 11.5 cm long and weight 13.5 g.
Thick-billed seed finch female, Uraba, Colombia Moving on to the next location in our Colombia 2017 set: Uraba. In our trip throughout the Northwest, this one would be the most disputed in terms of safety, due to still relatively recent incidents and militias claiming territory. By the time we arrived there, these issues were solved about 8 months earlier. Onwards to more positive things: we met our local guides here, two brothers named the Band brothers. One of them is calm, calculating, a scientist and zoologist, a powerhouse of knowledge. The other half of these brothers is a crazy enthusiastic guy that knows no fear and has an endless excitement in discovering nature. A wonderful pair! Combined they have unique local knowledge. They also have unique ties with the indigenous community, which is required to even be allowed to access some lands, as some of it is private. Uraba isn't some enormous large jungle where you settle in a single location. It's a larger partly urbanized area with modern infrastructure, including well maintained roads. So you can just drive to various small parks, locations, public and private. We visited several sub locations, of which this is the first one. Situated behind a school was a large area of open and mixed forest, which turned out to be a paradise for birding. Antioquia,Colombia,Colombia Choco & Pacific region,Oryzoborus funereus,South America,Thick-billed seed finch,Uraba,Urabá,World

Naming

It is replaced by the closely related chestnut-bellied seed finch in South America east of the Andes, as well as the valleys of Cauca and Magdalena in Colombia. The two have often been considered conspecific as the lesser seed-finch.

References:

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyThraupidae
GenusSporophila
SpeciesS. funerea
Photographed in
Colombia
Costa Rica