Dull-colored Grassquit - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Michael W
Rio Silanche (PVM), north-western Ecuador, September 2007

Asemospiza obscura

Tiaris obscurus

Identification

10·5–11·5 cm (4-4.5 in)

• Longish tail
• Short conical bill
• Light brown upperparts
• Paler underparts

Distribution

Subspecies A. o. haplochroma
Photo © by NJ Larsen
Above Minca, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, 19 August 2023

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

Taxonomy

This species has in the past been placed in genus Tiaris.

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

• A. o. haplochroma:

• North-eastern Colombia (Santa Marta Mountains) to north-western Venezuela

• A. o. pauper:

• Extreme southern Colombia (Narino) to Ecuador and north-western Peru

• A. o. obscura:

• Eastern slope of Andes of central Peru to western Bolivia and north-western Argentina

• A. o. pacifica:

• Lomas of coastal western Peru (northern Lima to northern Arequipa)

Habitat

Edges of lowland moist forest, cloud forest and shrubberies. Also roadside thickets and gardens.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of seeds, particularly grass seeds.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Mangoverde World Bird Guide
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Sept 2017)
5. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Dull-colored Grassquit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dull-colored_Grassquit

External Links

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