White-collared Seedeater
Encyclopedia
The White-collared Seedeater (Sporophila torqueola) is a passerine
bird
in the typical seedeater
genus
Sporophila
.
near San Ignacio, Texas
in the United States
south through Mexico
and Central America
to Panama
. It mainly inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
but can also be found in pastures, arable land, and heavily degraded former forests.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the typical seedeater
Seedeater
The seedeaters are a form taxon of seed-eating passerine birds with a distinctively conical bill.Most are Central and South American birds that were formerly placed in the American sparrow family , but are now known to be tanagers closely related to Darwins finches...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Sporophila
Sporophila
Sporophila is a genus of Neotropical birds in the Thraupidae family. The seed finches are sometimes also included in this genus.They are relatively small with stubby, conical bills adapted for feeding on seeds and alike...
.
Taxonomy
The subspecies S. t. morelleti is sometimes considered to be a full species, the Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater (Sporophila morelleti).Distribution and habitat
It ranges from a small area along the Rio GrandeRio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
near San Ignacio, Texas
San Ignacio, Texas
San Ygnacio is a census-designated place in Zapata County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 667. It is named for the prominent Spanish saint, Ignatius of Loyola. The portion of the community between the Rio Grande and U.S...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
south through Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. It mainly inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands are a grassland terrestrial biome located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and tropical latitudes. Grasslands are dominated by grass and other herbaceous plants. Savannas are grasslands with scattered trees...
but can also be found in pastures, arable land, and heavily degraded former forests.
Book
- Eitniear, J. C. 1997. White-collared Seedeater (Sporophila torqueola). In The Birds of North America, No. 278 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
Articles
- Azpiroz AB. (2003). First records of the White-collared Seedeater (Sporophila zelichi) for Uruguay. Ornitologia Neotropical. vol 14, no 1. p. 117-119.
- Bencke GA. (2004). The seedeater Sporophila zelichi observed in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Ararajuba. vol 12, no 2. p. 170-171.
- Eitniear JC. (1997). White collared seedeater: Sporophila torqueola. Birds of North America. vol 0, no 278. p. 1-12.
- Eitniear JC. (2004). Diet of the white-collared seedeater Sporophila torqueola (Passeriformes: Emberizidae) in Texas. Texas Journal of Science. vol 56, no 1. p. 77-81.
- Woodin MC, Skoruppa MK, Blacklock GW & Hickman GC. (1999). Discovery of a second population of white-collared seedeaters, Sporophila torqueola (Passeriformes: Emberizidae) along the Rio Grande of Texas. Southwestern Naturalist. vol 44, no 4. p. 535-538.