Orange-billed Sparrow (Arremon aurantiirostris)

Identification & Behavior: ~14 cm (5.5 in). The Orange-billed Sparrow has yellow-olive upperparts. The head is black with white stripes. It has a complete black pectoral band.  The throat and center of the breast are white with gray on the sides of the breast and belly. Both sexes have a bright orange bill, which is dusky in the juvenile. It is similar to the Black-capped Sparrow but is distinguished by yellow-olive upperparts and a bright orange bill.

Status: The Orange-billed Sparrow is uncommon in the understory and floor of interior humid forest on the east slope of the Andes and adjacent lowlands. It is known to range at elevations between 350 – 1200 m. It also occurs in the humid forest of extreme northwest Peru in Tumbes. The Orange-billed Sparrow also occurs in Co and Ec.

Name in Spanish: Gorrión de Pico Naranja.

Sub-species: Orange-billed Sparrow (Arremon aurantiirostris spectabilis) P. L. Sclater, 1855.  SE Colombia (Putumayo) S through E Ecuador to NC Peru (San Martín).
(A. a. santarosae) Chapman, 1925.  SW Ecuador S from Chimbo Valley.

Meaning of Name: Arremon: Gr. arrhemon, arrhemonos= silent, without speech. aurantiirostris: L. aurantius= orange-coloure,drostris,rostrum= billed, beak.

See more of the Family Passerellidae