White-winged Brush-Finch (Atlapetes leucopterus)

Identification & Behavior: ~15 cm (6 in). The White-winged Brush-Finch is dusky gray above and light gray below. The head is blackish with a rufous (dresseri) or whitish (paynteri) crown. The throat is white with a variable black malar stripe. It has a conspicuous white wing speculum. Some individuals show white speckling on the face and head. The White-winged Brush-Finch forages in scrub and the understory of deciduous forests. It is similar to the White-headed Brush-Finch but is distinguished by a dusky head and rufous or whitish crown.

Status: The White-winged Brush-Finch (dresseri) is uncommon in the understory of semi-deciduous forests on the northwest slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 400-2200 m. The sub-species paynteri occurs in more humid habitats on the east slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 1700-2200m. The White-winged Brush-Finch also occurs in Ec.

Name in Spanish: Matorralero de Ala Blanca.

Sub-species: White-winged Brush-Finch (Atlapetes leucopterus paynteri), Fitzpatrick, 1980.  extreme NE Piura and N Cajamarca (Cordillera del Condor), in NW Peru.
(A. l. dresseri), (Taczanowski), 1883.   SW Ecuador (El Oro and Loja) and NW Peru (Tumbes S to Cajamarca).

Meaning of Name: Atlapetes: Gr. myth. Atlas, a Titan king who was changed into a mountain and petes= flier, to fly. leucopterus: Gr. leukos= white and pteros= winged.

See more of the Family Passerellidae