Black-masked Finch - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Francisco Paludo
Altiplano, Brasília, DF, Brazil, January 2017

Coryphaspiza melanotis

Identification

13.5 cm (6½ in)
Male

• Black crown, face, cheeks and auriculars
• Whitish eyebrow and underparts
• Black patches on sides of breast
• Greyish nape
• Warm brown back
• Olive wings with yellow carpals
• Blackish tail with broad, white tips (visible in flight)
• Blackish maxilla and orange mandible
  

Female: has no black on the head, is duller and the wings are greener.

Distribution

South America: found in Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• C. m. marajoara:

• Ilha de Marajó (eastern Brazil in Pará)

• C. m. melanotis:

• Eastern Peru to northern Bolivia, south-eastern Paraguay, south-eastern Brazil and north-eastern Argentina

Habitat

Tall open grassland with scattered low shrubs.

Behaviour

Diet

They forage on the ground in tall grass and bare earth. There is no other information about their diet.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. BirdLife International
   1. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved March 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-masked Finch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-masked_Finch

External Links

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