Capped Seedeater (Sporophila bouvreuil)

[order] Passeriformes | [family] Emberizidae | [latin] Sporophila bouvreuil | [UK] Capped Seedeater | [FR] Sporophile bouvreuil | [DE] Orangepfaffchen | [ES] Espiguero Capuchino de Boina Negra | [IT] Beccasemi capinero | [NL] Oranje Dikbekje

The male of this species 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.

It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay.

Its natural habitat is dry savanna. They are found in tall grasslands and open cerrado normally close to water or marshlands.

Clutch size is two-four eggs, incubation lasts abouts 12 days and the young fledge after appr. 10 days. (Data based on captive birds)

Forages solitary, in pairs of mixed with other Seedeaters for grass seeds on dryer grounds.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 3,900,000 km². The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population size criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., less than 10,000 mature individuals in conjunction with appropriate decline rates and subpopulation qualifiers), even though the species is described as ‘uncommon’ in at least parts of its range (Stotz et al. 1996). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Sedentary throughout range