Half-collared Sparrow (Arremon semitorquatus)

[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Emberizidae | [latin] Arremon semitorquatus | [UK] Half-collared Sparrow | [FR] Tohi a demi-collier | [DE] Schwarzbrust-Ruderammer | [ES] Salton Medio Acollarado | [NL]

Subspecies

Physical charateristics

The male has a white chest and belly with a black band which is lacking in the female. Male has sides and flanks grey and the shoulder area of the wing is conspicuously yellow. The bill is black.

Range

South America : Southeast Brazil

Habitat

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It lives alone or in dispersed pairs in rain forests, at the edges of forests and in mature capoeiras.

Reproduction

It builds a spacious, spherical, closed nest, laying two eggs at a time. The female, when scared from the nest will feign injury to divert predators from the nest.

Feeding habits

Forages in pairs by hopping along the ground, tossing leaves in search of small insects and spiders.

Conservation

This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Migration

Sedentary throughout range

Distribution map