Black-capped Sparrow

Overview

The black-capped sparrow (Arremon abeillei) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Ecuador and Peru and is currently assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Approximately 15 cm long, with a mostly black head, white throat, and a wide white stripe running from above the eye down the side of the nape.
• Upperparts and tail are blue-grey, with wing coverts that sometimes show small pale tips forming two wing bars; flight feathers are dusky with blue-grey edges.
• Underparts feature a white throat with a black band across the upper breast, grey flanks, and otherwise white underparts; the bird has a brown iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet.
• Song consists of a fast 'tseeét, tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi tseeét' or a variable high series of thin, buzzy whistles and loose trills, typically sung from a low perch at dawn.

Habitat

Found along the Pacific coast from central Manabí Province in Ecuador south into Peru as far as northern Cajamarca Department, with a noted gap in Ecuador's southern Guayas Province. It primarily inhabits somewhat dry tropical deciduous forest, gallery forest, and scrublands, though it locally occurs in more humid evergreen forest, particularly in Ecuador. Elevation ranges mostly from sea level to 800 m in Ecuador, locally reaching 1,600 m, and up to 1,800 m in Peru.

Diet

Although its diet has not been formally studied, it is assumed to include insects, seeds, and fruits. The bird usually forages on the ground or near it in low vegetation, typically seen singly or in pairs.

Did you know?

Adults often raise their crown feathers to form a shaggy crest.