Blue-black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina)
Immature male Blue-black Grassquit, Carajás, Pará, Brazil, October 2005 - click for larger image Brazil

The Blue-black Grassquit is distributed in Central America and in South America south to northern Argentina. It is found in a wide variety of open grassland type habitats especially agricultural land and in gardens, etc..
Male Blue-black Grassquit, Murici, Alagoas, Brazil, March 2004 - click for larger image The breeding male is a glossy blue-black and has white underwings. The non-breeding male has white borders to its black feathers as seen in photo 1 while sub-adult males are a mottled black and brown. The female (seen here in photo 3) is dull brown above, paler below and with dark streaks on the breast and flanks.
Female Blue-black Grassquit, Carajás, Pará, Brazil, October 2005 - click for larger image It is normally called a Tizui in Brazil and this is an approximation of what its buzzy call is like.

During the breeding season males can be seen calling from a perch then suddenly jumping straight up in the air and back down again while showing off its white underwings. It can jump about 10 times per minute.
Previous Page Back to Index Next Page
If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page. Fatbirder's Top 1000 Birding Websites