Mourning Sierra-Finch (Phrygilus fruticeti)

Identification & Behavior: ~17.5 cm (6.8 in). The male Mourning Sierra-Finch has gray upperparts with dusky streaks. The wings are duskier with two white wing bars. The bill is bright orange. The throat and breast are black bordered by gray. The female is all brownish with dusky streaks. The bill and legs are yellowish. It has a rufous ear patch and dusky malar stripe. It forages in dry Andean scrub. The female is similar to the smaller female Band-tailed Sierra-Finch but is distinguished by having rufous ear patches.

Status: The Mourning Sierra-Finch is common in dry montane scrub on the west slope of the Andes at elevations ranging between 2300-4200 m. It also occurs in Bo and Ch.

Name in Spanish: Fringilo de Pecho Negro.

Sub-species: Mourning Sierra-Finch (Phrygilus fruticeti peruvianus), J. T. Zimmer, 1924.  Peru (S Cajamarca S to Puno) and W Bolivia (La Paz).
(Phrygilus fruticeti coracinus), P. L. Sclater, 1891.  Altiplano of SW Bolivia (in Oruro and Potosí) and adjacent N Chile in regions of Arica–Parinacota (Visviri) and Tarapacá (Isluga).

Meaning of Name: Phrygilus: Gr. phrugilos= unidentified bird mentioned by
fruticeti: L. fruticetum, fruticeti= thicket, one that likes thicket vegetation.

See more of the Family Thraupidae