Blue-black Grassquit

Overview

The blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) is a small Neotropical bird in the family Thraupidae. It is a sedentary year-round resident with an extremely large range across the Americas, estimated to number at least 50 million mature individuals.

Identification

• Adult males are mostly black with dark blue iridescence, while females have warm brown upperparts and streaked underparts.
• Measures 8.7 to 10.9 cm in length and weighs 8 to 12 g, featuring a longish conical bill.
• Song varies by description, noted as a 'simple, 2-noted zeé-dji', an 'explosive buzzy dzeee-u', or a 'dry, sizzling tsi-SZZZEW'.

Habitat

Found in second-growth scrub, low seasonally wet grasslands, arid lowland scrub, pastures, and riparian thickets, typically in the tropical zone. Its range extends from Mexico through Central America, across mainland South America, and to the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, and Grenada.

Diet

Feeds primarily on seeds, favouring those of Paspalum and Panicum grasses, while also consuming small amounts of berries, insects, and Cecropia protein corpuscles. It forages mostly on the ground but also takes seeds directly from grasses, typically in pairs during breeding and in flocks otherwise.

Did you know?

The species acquires the local name 'johnny jump-up' due to a male's jumping display that gives rise to the local name, which is accompanied by a persistent wheezing 'jweeee' call.