Yellow-thighed Finch
Encyclopedia
The Yellow-thighed Finch, Pselliophorus tibialis, is a passerine
bird
which is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica
and western Panama
. Despite its name, it is not a true finch
, but rather a member of the large Emberizidae family, which also includes buntings
, American sparrow
s, junco
s and towhee
s.
This is a common bird in wet mountain forests, second growth, bamboo
clumps, scrubby pasture and bushy clearings from 1700 m altitude to the timberline. When not breeding, it can descend to 1200 m on the Caribbean
slopes.
The nest, built by the female, is a bulky cup of plant material hidden in coarse grasses, bamboo or a thickly-foliaged tree 0.7-4.6 m above the ground. The female lays two brown-blotched white or pale blue eggs, which she incubates for 12-14 days.
The Yellow-thighed Finch is a long-tailed species, 18.5 cm long and weighing 31 g. The adult is mainly dark grey, becoming black on the crown, throat, wings and tail, and with an olive tinge to the belly and breast. The bright yellow thighs contrast with the otherwise drab plumage, and give this species its English
and scientific names. Young birds have duller, sootier plumage with a brown tone to the underparts, and olive-brown thighs.
The Yellow-thighed Finch has a heavy metallic tchuk call, and pairs have a twittering tinkling greeting. The male’s song consists of high dry notes, tee tididee dee wink wink, or similar phrases.
The Yellow-thighed Finch feeds at all levels from the treetops to the ground, taking insect
s and spider
s and many berries. It will also squeeze nectar from flowers. It is seen in pairs, family groups or in mixed-species feeding flock
s with other small birds such as warblers
. It can be very approachable.
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...
which is endemic to the highlands of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and western 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...
. Despite its name, it is not a true finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
, but rather a member of the large Emberizidae family, which also includes buntings
Bunting (bird)
Buntings are a group of Eurasian and African passerine birds of the family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as sparrows...
, American sparrow
American sparrow
American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
s, junco
Junco
A Junco , genus Junco, is a small North American bird. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species...
s and towhee
Towhee
A towhee is any one of a number of species of birds in the genus Pipilo or Melozone within the family Emberizidae ....
s.
This is a common bird in wet mountain forests, second growth, bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
clumps, scrubby pasture and bushy clearings from 1700 m altitude to the timberline. When not breeding, it can descend to 1200 m on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
slopes.
The nest, built by the female, is a bulky cup of plant material hidden in coarse grasses, bamboo or a thickly-foliaged tree 0.7-4.6 m above the ground. The female lays two brown-blotched white or pale blue eggs, which she incubates for 12-14 days.
The Yellow-thighed Finch is a long-tailed species, 18.5 cm long and weighing 31 g. The adult is mainly dark grey, becoming black on the crown, throat, wings and tail, and with an olive tinge to the belly and breast. The bright yellow thighs contrast with the otherwise drab plumage, and give this species its English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and scientific names. Young birds have duller, sootier plumage with a brown tone to the underparts, and olive-brown thighs.
The Yellow-thighed Finch has a heavy metallic tchuk call, and pairs have a twittering tinkling greeting. The male’s song consists of high dry notes, tee tididee dee wink wink, or similar phrases.
The Yellow-thighed Finch feeds at all levels from the treetops to the ground, taking insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and many berries. It will also squeeze nectar from flowers. It is seen in pairs, family groups or in mixed-species feeding flock
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
s with other small birds such as warblers
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
. It can be very approachable.