Copper Seedeater Sporophila bouvreuil
(aka Capped Seedeater)
Male Capped Seedeater, south-east Pará, Brazil, February 2002 - click for a larger image Brazil

Seedeaters, particularly females, are notoriously difficult to identify properly and Copper Seedeaters are slightly more complicated given the colour variations of the subspecies.
Male Capped Seedeater, Emas, Goiás, Brazil, April 2001 - click for a larger image Copper Seedeaters are found from the mouth of the Amazon south to Rio Grande do Sul and west to Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul. They are found in tall grasslands and open cerrado normally close to water or marshlands.

The first photo, taken in south-east Pará, shows a male of the nominate subspecies S. b. bouvreuil while the second, taken in Emas N.P., Goiás, shows, I believe, a male of the southern subspecies S. b. pileata.
Female Capped Seedeater, Emas, Goiás, Brazil, April 2001 - click for a larger image The male of this subspecies has whitish rather than cinnamon-brown underparts. It also has the typical black cap and white speculum. A further complication of this species is that the male has an eclipse plumage just after the breeding season. The third photo is of a female
The name "bouvreuil" comes from the French name for the Bullfinch.

There are illustrations in Ridgely & Tudor, Volume 1, Plate 26 and in Sick, Plate 43.
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