Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater

Overview

The cinnamon-rumped seedeater (Sporophila torqueola) is a small passerine bird endemic to Mexico and a member of the family Thraupidae. Currently assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species is considered common to fairly common with an estimated population of at least 5.8 million mature individuals.

Identification

• Small bird measuring 9.5 to 11 cm in length with a short, thick bill featuring a rounded culmen.
• Adult males of the nominate subspecies display a mostly blackish-brown head and upperparts with a distinctive cinnamon rump, a white throat extending into a nape band, and pale cinnamon underparts.
• Males also exhibit blackish wings with white bases on the primaries that appear as a patch on the closed wing, while females are greyish-olive with dark brown wings featuring two whitish bars.
• Song is described as high-pitched and canary-like, resembling a clear, sweet sequence of 'cheer cheer cheer' notes, accompanied by an abrupt 'chéh' call.

Habitat

Found along the Pacific side of Mexico from central Sinaloa and western Durango south to Nayarit and northern Jalisco, as well as in the far south of Baja California, and inland from Jalisco and Guanajuato south to Oaxaca and east to Morelos and Puebla. It inhabits open landscapes including grassy and weedy fields, pastures, croplands, moist savanna, and scrubby beaches, favouring areas with Polygonum grass. The species ranges in elevation from near sea level to at least 2,000 m.

Diet

The species feeds mostly on grass seeds, particularly those of Polygonum, with smaller amounts of berries and insects. During the breeding season, it usually forages in pairs, but outside this period it is often found in flocks of several hundred individuals that may include other seed-eating species.

Did you know?

The species possesses a complicated taxonomic history involving a split in 2016-2018 where three subspecies were reclassified as Morelet's seedeater, leading to a naming confusion where the English name 'white-collared seedeater' was historically applied to the cinnamon-rumped seedeater but is now confusingly used by BirdLife International for the newly separated Morelet's species.