Caracas Brushfinch

About the Caracas Brushfinch

The Caracas brushfinch (Arremon phaeopleurus) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is endemic to Venezuela. The Caracas brushfinch has a complicated taxonomic history. It was formally described in 1856 with the binomial Buarremon phaeopleurus. The genus Buarremon was later merged into genus Atlapetes. Further study resulted in Buarremon's being resurrected. Buarremon phaeopleurus was later reassigned as one of many subspecies of what was then the "stripe-headed brushfinch" (Buarremon torquatus). In 2008 taxonomists began merging Buarremon into Arremon. Following a study published in 2010 and some earlier studies, taxonomists began splitting the "stripe-headed brushfinch" into eight species, one of which was the Caracas brushfinch.

The Caracas brushfinch is monotypic. The Caracas brushfinch is about 19 cm (7.5 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a black crown with a gray stripe in the middle and a grayish white supercilium that extends to the nape and continues down behind the ear coverts to the sides of the breast. The rest of their face is black. Their upperparts, wings, and... Wikipedia →