- Sporophila pileata
Identification
10 cm (4 in)
Breeding plumage male has a black cap from bill, just below eye, and to nape, and also mostly black wings (with white speculum) and tail, and bill is black in breeding plumage. Underside is light grey, pinkish grey to pale yellowish brown, and upperside dark greyish brown to light reddish brown. Non-breeding male and subadult male has yellowish bill and more resembles female in color for example lacking dark cap.
Female buffish-brown lacking the black cap and wings, with paler underside than upperside, and with yellowish bill.
The male may breed in a female-like plumage except for color of bill; this may be more frequent in younger males.
Similar species
Very similar to Copper Seedeater: females and younger males are likely not separable, while adult male in breeding plumage is consistently paler in Pearly-bellied Seedeater than in Copper Seedeater.
Distribution
Eastern Paraguay to north-eastern Argentina (Corrientes and Misiones), southern Brazil (SW Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso). Also locally to N Uruguay. Has also been recorded in Bolivia (Santa Cruz). Ranges of Pearly-bellied Seedeater and Copper Seedeater overlap in parts of Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states.
Nomadic.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
It was formerly included in Capped Seedeater, together with Copper Seedeater; there are areas of overlap between these two species.
Habitat
Sea level to 1100 m. Relatively open areas in cerrado, campo, and southern grassland. It seems to prefer areas with tall grasses over grazed areas with shorter grasses.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists almost entirely of grass seeds. The birds cling to the grass stem while extracting the seeds. They usually forage in pairs during the breeding season and sometimes in small flocks the rest of the year.
Breeding
No information on breeding available.
References
- 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/
- Ridgely and Tudor 2009. Field guide to the songbirds of South America - The Passerines. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71979-8
- Ber van Perlo. 2009. A field guide to the Birds of Brazil. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-530155-7
- Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of this species
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2017)
- Wikipedia
- Paper describing habitat of grassland species in southern Brazil
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Pearly-bellied Seedeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 2 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Pearly-bellied_Seedeater
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
