- Sporophila torqueola
Identification
Typical overall appearance of a seedeater. The breeding male is easily identified in its range, with a dark head and back, a single while collar above a black breast band, stubby dark bill with curved culmen, buffy belly, short tail and double white wingbars. The male outside breeding keeps the blackish wings with wing bars and has crown still mottled with dark, but is otherwise similar to female. The female is overall a drab light brown.
Variation
The black bib/breast band and the white collar in the male varies between weak in subspecies sharpei and much stronger in e.g., moreletti[1]. The second has underparts white to pale buff.
Distribution
North America and Central America
Eastern and western Mexico and the far southern Rio Grande Valley in Texas; additionally along the Caribbean slope south to western Panama.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species consisting of four subspecies[2]:
- S. t. sharpei:
- S. t. morelleti:
- S. t. mutanda:
- Pacific slope of southern Mexico (Chiapas) to Guatemala and El Salvador
- S. t. torqueola: (Cinnamon-rumped)
- South-western Mexico (Jalisco to Guanajuato, western Puebla and southern Oaxaca)
Habitat
Grassy and weedy areas near cane.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes seeds.
References
- Birdforum thread discussing id of White-collared Seedeater
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Morelet's Seedeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Morelet%27s_Seedeater