- Sporophila bouvreuil
Identification
10 cm (4 in)
Male in breeding plumage has a black cap from bill, just below eye, and to nape, and also mostly black wings (except for white speculum and dark tail, and bill is black. Underside is pale brown, reddish brown, or dark yellowish brown, seemingly getting darker with age. Upperside is usually reddish brown but may be dark greyish brown.
Non-breeding male is usually similar to breeding male while subadult male has yellowish bill and more resembles female in color including lacking dark cap.
Female is buffish-brown lacking the black cap and wings, with paler underside than upperside and with yellowish bill.
Locally, the male may resemble female except for color of bill; this may to some extent be caused by younger males.
Similar species
Very similar to Pearly-bellied 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
South America: found in Suriname and eastern Brazil, where the species range north and east of a line from approximately the Amazon delta south to the ne quadrant of Mato Grosso, across Goiás and Minas Gerais and parallel to the coast into Sao Paolo. Ranges of Pearly-bellied Seedeater and Copper Seedeater overlaps in parts of Sao Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states.
Taxonomy
It was formerly included in Capped Seedeater together with Pearly-bellied Seedeater.
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized:
- S. b. bouvreuil:
- S. b. crypta:
- South-eastern Brazil (Farinha Sêca area near Rio de Janeiro)
- S. b. saturata:
- South-eastern Brazil (São Paulo)
Not all authors recognize the last two subspecies (but instead see this as a monotypic [1]species).
Habitat
Tall grasslands close to water or marshlands, seasonally flooded savanna.
Behaviour
Out of the breeding season, they may form very large flocks with their congeners.
Diet
The diet consists mostly of grass seeds. They generally feed by clinging to the grass stems.
Breeding
There is no information on breeding.
Movements
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 December 2015)
- Neotropical Birds
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Copper Seedeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Copper_Seedeater
