Gray-breasted Seedsnipe (Thinocorus orbignyianus)

Identification & Behavior: ~23 cm (9 in). The Gray-breasted Seedsnipe is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have gray breasts and sides of the neck with a distinctive black “round” stripe on the throat. The back is mottled brown and the belly is white. Females are all mottled brown with a white belly. The plumage of juveniles is like that of females. It walks on the ground and can be easily overlooked if a bird remains still. It is larger than similar Least Seedsnipe and lacks the median breast stripe of the latter.

Status: The Gray-breasted Seedsnipe is nomadic. It may be rare to fairly common in the high Andes at elevations ranging between 3000 and 4700. It ranges higher than the Least Seedsnipe and their ranges do not overlap. It also occurs in Bo and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Agachona de Pecho Gris.

Sub-species: Gray-breasted Seedsnipe (Thinocorus orbignyianus ingae) Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, & Lesson, 1831.

Meaning of Name:  Thinocorus: Gr. Thinos= sand, a beach, corys=lark like. rumiciborus: L. rumex, rumicis= Sorrel, vorus=eating. 0rbigneanus: After French naturalist Alcides Dessalines d’orgbigny. A bird that lives in sandy habitats, eats red-brown seeds and was named after a French naturalist and collector.

Go to the Family Thinocoridae