Cinnamon Warbling-Finch

About the Cinnamon Warbling-Finch

The cinnamon warbling finch (Poospiza ornata) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It has mainly grayish upperparts, with a slate-gray head marked with a cinnamon crescent under the eye and supercilium, two white wingbars, and a chestnut patch across the center of the back. The underparts are largely cinnamon with a rufous breast and flanks. The average length is 13 cm (5.1 in) and the typical mass is around 12.5 g (0.44 oz).. The species is almost entirely found in the arid regions of Argentina, where it spends its breeding season. During the non-breeding season, it migrates to the north and east, possibly reaching as far as Uruguay, and tolerates more moist habitats.

The cinnamon warbling finch was formally described in 1865 as Phrygilus ornatus by the German ornithologist Christian Ludwig Landbeck on the basis of a specimen from the "plain between the Portillo guard and the houses of Melocoton". It was later transferred to the genus Poospiza. The name of the genus is derived from the Ancient Greek poas, meaning 'grass', and spiza, meaning 'finch'. The specific epithet comes from the Modern Latin ornatus, meaning 'ornate' or 'splendid'. It is most closely... Wikipedia →