Stripe-headed Brush-finch
Encyclopedia
The Stripe-headed Brush Finch (Arremon torquatus), also known as the Stripe-headed Brush-finch, is a species of bird
in the Emberizidae
family. It is found in north-western Argentina
, Bolivia
, Colombia
, Ecuador
, Peru
, and northern and western Venezuela
. It is generally common in forest and dense second growth, mainly at altitudes of 2000 to 3000 m (6,561.7 to 9,842.5 ft), but locally it occurs far lower.
Buarremon
.
The Stripe-headed Brush Finch often includes the Black-headed Brush Finch (A. atricapillus) as a subspecies
, but the distributions of the two approach each other closely in Colombia with no evidence of intergradation
. When split, the taxon
costaricensis of Costa Rica
and western Panama
has been treated as a monotypic
species (the Grey-striped Brush-finch, A. costaricensis), a subspecies of the Stripe-headed Brush Finch, or a subspecies of the Black-headed Brush Finch, with most recent authorities preferring the last treatment. Even with these as separate species, considerable racial variation exists in the Stripe-headed Brush Finch. Based on ecology
, morphology
, song, and molecular work it has recently been suggested that it should be split into six species (in addition to before mentioned A. atricapillus and A. costaricensis). Approximately from south to north these are:
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Emberizidae
Emberizidae
The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill.In Europe, most species are called buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the sparrows, the...
family. It is found in north-western Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, and northern and western Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It is generally common in forest and dense second growth, mainly at altitudes of 2000 to 3000 m (6,561.7 to 9,842.5 ft), but locally it occurs far lower.
Taxonomy
Until recently, the Stripe-headed Brush Finch was placed in the genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Buarremon
Buarremon
Buarremon is a genus of perching birds in the family Emberizidae. Recent evidence indicates this genus should be merged into Arremon, but if recognized as a valid genus, it contains the following species:...
.
The Stripe-headed Brush Finch often includes the Black-headed Brush Finch (A. atricapillus) as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, but the distributions of the two approach each other closely in Colombia with no evidence of intergradation
Intergradation
In zoology, intergradation is the way in which two distinct subspecies are connected via areas where populations are found that have the characteristics of both...
. When split, the taxon
Taxon
|thumb|270px|[[African elephants]] form a widely-accepted taxon, the [[genus]] LoxodontaA taxon is a group of organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement...
costaricensis of Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and western Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
has been treated as a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
species (the Grey-striped Brush-finch, A. costaricensis), a subspecies of the Stripe-headed Brush Finch, or a subspecies of the Black-headed Brush Finch, with most recent authorities preferring the last treatment. Even with these as separate species, considerable racial variation exists in the Stripe-headed Brush Finch. Based on ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, morphology
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
, song, and molecular work it has recently been suggested that it should be split into six species (in addition to before mentioned A. atricapillus and A. costaricensis). Approximately from south to north these are:
- Arremon torquatus (with subspecies fimbriatus and borelli) in the AndesAndesThe Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
from north-western Argentina to far southern Peru. - Arremon assimilis (with subspecies larensis, nigrifrons and poliophrys) in the Andes from Peru to Venezuela.
- Arremon perijanus (monotypic) in the Perijá Mountains on the border of Colombia and Venezuela.
- Arremon basilicus (monotypic) in the Santa Marta Mountains in Colombia.
- Arremon phaeopleurus (monotypic) in the western Venezuelan Coastal RangeVenezuelan Coastal RangeThe Venezuelan Coastal Range is a mountain range that runs along the central and eastern portions of Venezuela's northern coast...
. - Arremon phygas (monotypic) in the eastern Venezuelan Coastal Range.