Band-tailed sierra finch

Band-tailed sierra finch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Rhopospina
Species:
R. alaudina
Binomial name
Rhopospina alaudina
(Kittlitz, 1833)
Range of band-tailed sierra finch
Synonyms
  • Fringilla alaudina von Kittlitz, 1833
  • Phrygilus alaudinus
  • Porphyrospiza alaudina

The band-tailed sierra finch (Rhopospina alaudina) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The band-tailed sierra finch has a complicated taxonomic history that is not yet fully resolved. It was formally described in 1833 with the binomial Fringilla alaudina.[3] By the early twentieth century it had been reassigned to the genus Phrygilus. At some time after 1993 some systems again reassigned it, this time to genus Porphyrospiza.[4][note 1] That genus was long in family Emberizidae which at the time held many New and Old World species. There it was grouped with the cardinalines which were later separated as the family Cardinalidae.[5] A study published in 2007 showed that the genus belonged in its present tanager family Thraupidae.[6] Beginning in 2019 most taxonomic systems began reassigning the band-tailed sierra finch to the resurrected genus Rhopospina that had been erected in 1851.[7][8][9] However, in 2016 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World moved it from Phrygilus to Corydospiza and as of late 2025 retains it there.[10][11]

The band-tailed sierra finch has these six subspecies:[2]

Description

The band-tailed sierra finch is 13.5 to 14.5 cm (5.3 to 5.7 in) long and weighs 17 to 30 g (0.60 to 1.1 oz). It is a slim bird with a long tail and a long pointed bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies R. a. alaudina have a gray head and breast with slightly darker lores and thin darker streaks on the crown. Their upperparts are mostly lead-gray with wide blackish streaks and their rump is plain gray. Their wings are mostly blackish with a gray shoulder and gray feather edges. Their tail is partly blackish with a wide white band in the middle of all feathers except the central pair. Their breast is gray, their flanks whitish with a buffy gray tinge, and their belly and vent whitish. They have a dark brown iris, a bright orange-yellow bill, and bright orange-yellow legs and feet. Adult females have a mostly brown head heavy with darker streaks on the face and crown. Their upperparts are also brown with darker streaks. Their throat and breast are whitish buff with darker streaks on the lower throat and breast. Their flanks are buff with darker streaks and their belly and vent are off-white. Their wings are mostly brownish with cinnamon-edged tertials and buffy edges on the other flight feathers. Their tail is like the male's but with smaller white areas. Their bill, legs, and feet are a duller yellowish than those of males.[12]

The other subspecies of the band-tailed sierra finch differ from the nominate and each other thus:[12]

  • R. a. venturii: larger and slightly darker than nominate
  • R. a. excelsa: smaller than nominate with darker upperparts and breast
  • R. a. bipartita: blackish chin, darker breast than excelsa, and sharp line between breast and belly
  • R. a. bracki: smaller than exelsa and bipartita with richer brown streaks on paler gray upperparts and more extensive whitish on belly
  • R. a. humboldti: size of bracki; same pale gray upperparts but with less rich streaks

Distribution and habitat

The band-tailed sierra finch has a highly disjunct distribution, with most subspecies' ranges not adjoining another and with gaps within the ranges of some subspecies. The map does not fully match the available range descriptions. The subspecies are found thus:[12]

The band-tailed sierra finch inhabits somewhat different landscapes among its subspecies, though all are mostly open. In the highlands of Ecuador and Peru it mostly inhabits relatively dry montane scrublands; the habitat in the Huallaga Valley is similar. More coastally in Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile it is in dry to arid semi-desert.[12][13][14] Further south in Chile and in Bolivia and Argentina it is on rocky, grassy slopes with moderate amounts of shrubs.[12][15] In elevation it is overall mostly found below 2,500 m (8,200 ft).[12] It mostly ranges between 1,200 and 3,000 m (3,900 and 9,800 ft) in Ecuador but is near sea level in the far southwest.[13] In Peru it is found at sea level in the northwest and somewhat higher elsewhere while reaching 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in the Andes.[14]

Behavior

Movement

In most of its range the band-tailed sierra finch is a sedentary year-round resident. In central Chile some downslope movement and an apparent northward shift have been observed.[12]

Feeding

The band-tailed sierra finch feeds on mostly on seeds and smaller amounts of invertebrates. It forages on the ground and mostly singly or in pairs. It sometimes flocks with sparrows and other finch-like tanagers.[12]

Breeding

The band-tailed sierra finch's breeding season has not been fully defined. It spans September to February in central Chile and includes May in Peru, June in Bolivia, and March in Argentina. Males make a flight display that may reach 20 m (65 ft) high and sings during the descent. The nest is made from grass and typically is on the ground at the base of a tussock. The clutch is three to five eggs that are pale pinkish to pale greenish with darker spotting. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.[12]

Vocalization

One description of the band-tailed sierra finch's song is "a high, electric-sounding tszz-zzew zz-zzew zz-zzew; occasionally more complex in skylarking flight display". Its call is "a high ti".[14]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the band-tailed sierra finch as being of Least Concern. It has a very large range; its population size is not known but is believed to be stable. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is considered "somewhat local" in Ecuador.[13] In Peru it is local in the northwest and "more commonly found" in the central and southern parts of the country. The smallest populations are in the northwest and in the Huallanga Valley.[14] It is common in Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.[15] It is found in a few protected areas.[12]

Notes

  1. ↑ These dates are based on the earliest and most recent dates at which the subspecies were described; all were named as subspecies of Phrygilus alaudinus

References

Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Rhopospina alaudina at Wikimedia Commons

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Band-tailed Sierra-finch Corydospiza alaudina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018 e.T22723110A132021685. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22723110A132021685.en. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (April 2026). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List. v 15.2. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  3. ↑ von Kittlitz, Heinrich (1833). Kupfertafeln zur Naturgeschichte der Vögel (in German). Vol. 2. p. 18.
  4. ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, D. F. Lane, L, N. Naka, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 25 July 2026. A classification of the bird species of South America. South American Classification Committee associated with the International Ornithologists' Union. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved 25 July 2026
  6. ↑ Klicka, John; Burns, Kevin; Spellman, Garth M. (2007). "Defining a monophyletic Cardinalini: A molecular perspective". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (3): 1014–1032. Bibcode:2007MolPE..45.1014K. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.006. PMID 17920298.
  7. ↑ James Van Remsen Jr. (2016). "Proposal (730) to South American Classification Committee :Revise generic limits in the Thraupidae". South American Classification Committee. Retrieved August 8, 2026. The proposal was accepted in 2019.
  8. ↑ Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2021. retrieved August 30, 2021
  9. ↑ Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2023. IOC World Bird List (v 13.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.13.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
  10. ↑ BirdLife International (2016) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. [Old] Version 9. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/BirdLife_Checklist_Version_90.zip.
  11. ↑ HBW and BirdLife International (2025). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 10. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/about-our-science/taxonomy#birdlife-s-taxonomic-checklist retrieved 12 October 2025
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jaramillo, A. and V. Pantoja-Maggi (2024). Band-tailed Sierra Finch (Rhopospina alaudina), version 1.2. In Birds of the World (M. G. Smith, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.btsfin1.01.2 retrieved August 8, 2026
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Ridgely, Robert S.; Greenfield, Paul J. (2001). The Birds of Ecuador: Field Guide. Vol. II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. p. 683. ISBN 978-0-8014-8721-7.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Schulenberg, T.S.; Stotz, D.F.; Lane, D.F.; O'Neill, J.P.; Parker, T.A. III (2010). Birds of Peru. Princeton Field Guides (revised and updated ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 588. ISBN 978-0691130231.
  15. 1 2 3 de la Peña, Martín R.; Rumboll, Maurice (2001). Birds of Southern South America and Antarctica. Princeton Illustrated Checklists. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. Plate and map 95.9. ISBN 0691090351.
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