Black-capped Sparrow

About the Black-capped Sparrow

The black-capped sparrow (Arremon abeillei) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. The black-capped sparrow was formally described in 1844 with its current binomial Arremon abeillei.

The black-capped sparrow is monotypic. However, what is now the Maranon sparrow (A. nigriceps) was previously treated as a subspecies; taxonomic systems began separating them in 2016. A later study confirmed that the two are sister species.

The black-capped sparrow is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs about 26 g (0.92 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly black head with a white throat and a wide white stripe from above the eye down the side of the nape. They often raise their crown feathers in a shaggy crest. Their upperparts and tail are blue-gray. Their wing coverts are blue-gray; some individuals have small pale tips on them that form two wing bars. Their flight feathers are dusky with blue-gray edges. Their throat is white with a black band below it across the upper breast. Their flanks are gray and the rest of their underparts white. They have a brown iris, a... Wikipedia →