- Lysurus castaneiceps
Identification
The Olive Finch averages about 11.5 centimeters in length. They are olive green throughout, a seemingly dull color, which becomes almost golden in strong sunlight. Olive finches are sexually dimorphic. The male has more extensive and stronger coloration around its head. They have an orange/dark yellow bib, and a long stripe from the beak to the “ear” both above and below the eye. The males also have a black bib below and surrounding the orange bib. The black region extends halfway down the breast. Mature males have more extensive black bibs and more vivid orange patches. The female Olive is a copy of them male except that she lacks the black bib, and her markings are very reduced and more yellow as compared to those of the male.
Distribution
Olive finches inhabit grasslands and cultivate areas of Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Atlantic slope of Mexico, the Greater Antilles, and Central America to western Venezuela. In their native habitat they are considered pests, as they suck the marrow from drying sugar cane crops.
Taxonomy
The Olive Finch is a close relative of the Cuban Melodious Finch, in the family Emberizidaea.
Habitat
Grasslands
