Crimson-breasted Finch (Rhodospingus cruentus)

Identification & Behavior: ~11 cm (4.5 in). The male Crimson-breasted Finch has black upperparts with a crimson crest. The throat and breast are crimson and grade to yellow-red on the lower underparts. The female is mostly olive-brown with a yellowish throat, sides of the head, and breast. The male has a silver and black bill while the bill in the female is pink and black. The juvenile looks like a female. It forages in scrub and edges of deciduous forests. The male’s plumage pattern may resemble that of a Red-crested Finch but is smaller and has black upperparts. The female resembles a female of a Guira Tanager but they use different habitats.

Status: The Crimson Finch is generally rare in northwest Peru where ranges to elevations below 900 m. It also occurs in Ec.

Name in Spanish: Pinzón de Pecho Carmesí.

Sub-species: Crimson-breasted Finch (Rhodospingus cruentus), (Lesson), 1844.

Meaning of Name: Rhodospingus: Gr. rhodon= rose, spingos= finch. cruentus: L. cruor, cruoris= blood, cruentus= bloody, stained with blood.

See more of the Family Thraupidae