- Grassland Yellow-finch
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Grassland Yellow Finch 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Thraupidae Genus: Sicalis Species: S. luteola Binomial name Sicalis luteola
(Sparrman, 1789)Synonyms Sicalis luteiventris
The Grassland Yellow Finch, Sicalis luteola, is a small passerine bird. Despite its name, it is not a finch, but is a seedeater. These were formerly united with the buntings and American sparrows in the Emberizidae, but are now known to be tanagers.
It is a resident breeding bird in tropical South America, from Colombia south and east to the Guianas and central Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Birds which breed further south in Argentina and Uruguay migrate to Bolivia and southern Brazil, (the cerrado etc.), in the austral winter. It was discovered on Trinidad in 2004, presumably having colonised from nearby Venezuela.
The Grassland Yellow Finch, as its name implies, is found in fields and other open grassland. The female lays 3 brown-speckled pale blue-green eggs in a grassy cup nest in tall grass, and several pairs may breed close to each other in suitable areas.
The Grassland Yellow Finch is about 12 cm long and weighs 13 g. The males have bright yellow underparts and rump, and olive yellow upperparts. The crown and nape have dark streaking, and there is yellow around the eye. Females have dark-streaked pale brown upperparts and dull yellow underparts. The call is a sharp te-tsip, and the male’s song, given from a perch or in a display flight, is a series of chips, buzzes and trills.
Grassland Yellow Finches eat seeds and insects, and are usually seen in pairs or small groups.
References
- ^ BirdLife International (2009). "Sicalis luteola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/169338. Retrieved 5 August 2011. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of Venezuela by Hilty, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
External links
- Grassland Yellow Finch videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Stamps (for Barbados) with South American RangeMap
- Grassland Yellow-finch photo gallery VIREO
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Sicalis
- Birds of the Cerrado
- Birds of the Pantanal
- Birds of the Caatinga
- South American migratory birds
- Birds of Paraguay
- Birds of Bolivia
- Birds of Uruguay
- Birds of Argentina
- Birds of Chile
- Birds of Brazil
- Birds of the Guianas
- Birds of Venezuela
- Birds of Colombia
- Birds of South America
- Birds of Central America
- Native birds of Southern Mexico
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