Peg-billed Finch

Overview

The peg-billed finch (Acanthidops bairdi) is a passerine bird endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Despite its common name, it is not a true finch but a member of the tanager family (Thraupidae) and is the sole species in the genus Acanthidops.

Identification

• Length of 13.5 cm with a weight of 16 g.
• Distinctive long, upturned bill featuring a black upper mandible and yellow lower mandible.
• Adult males are slate grey with paler bellies; females are olive-brown above with bright cinnamon wing bars and buff supercilia.
• Song consists of high whistled notes ending with a buzz, described as 'chee shee shee shee paah'.

Habitat

Found in mountain forests, scrubby second growth, bamboo clumps, and bushy pastures from 1500 m altitude to the timberline, descending to 1200 m during the wet season. Populations can be high at sites such as Cerro de la Muerte when bamboo is flowering.

Diet

Feeds on insects, spiders, grass and bamboo seeds, and will squeeze nectar from flowers and juice from berries. Typically seen foraging singly, in pairs, in family groups, or within mixed-species feeding flocks.

Did you know?

The scientific name commemorates the American ornithologist Spencer Fullerton Baird, while the genus name combines the Ancient Greek words for 'spiky' and 'face'. No subspecies are currently recognised.