Apurimac Brush-Finch (Atlapetes forbesi)

Identification & Behavior: ~18.5 cm (7.2 in). The Apurimac Brush-Finch is dusky-gray above and lighter gray below with a whitish center of the belly. It has a rufous head with black lores and around the eye. It also has a black malar stripe and white spots on the forehead. It forages in Andean scrub and Polylepis forests. The range of the Apurimac Brush-Finch does not overlap with that of the very similar Rufous-eared Brush-Finch and Black-spectacled Brush-Finch.

Status: Endemic. The Apurimac Brush-Finch is uncommon in montane scrub, and Polylepis woodlands on the west slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 2700-4100 m.

Name in Spanish: Matorralero de Apurímac.

Sub-species: Apurimac Brush-Finch (Atlapetes forbesi), Morrison, 1947.

Meaning of Name: Atlapetes: Gr. myth. Atlas, a Titan king who was changed into a mountain and petes= flier, to fly. forbesi: In honor of Sir Victor Courtenay Walter Forbes (1889-1958) British diplomat in Mexico, Spain and Peru.

See more of the Family Passerellidae