Birds of Ecuador

    PASSERIFORMES: Thraupidae (Tanagers & Allies)  
Genus: Sporophila (16 species, 41 worldwide)

Genus Sporophila contains small to tiny seedeaters in the tanager (Thraupidae) family. They have thick bills used mostly to eat grass seeds. The female is often plain and brown, but may show hints of the male's characteristics.


Wing-barred Seedeater
Wing-barred Seedeater (Sporophila americana murallae) Male
Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Wing-barred Seedeater
Wing-barred Seedeater (Sporophila americana murallae) Female
Puerto Nariño, Amazonas, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch
Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch (Sporophila angolensis) Male
Villavicencio, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch
Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch (Sporophila angolensis torrida) Female
Villavicencio, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Once considered the same species at the all black Thick-billed Seed Finch. HBW writes there is some hybridization in the Madgalena Valley of Colombia.

Black-billed Seed Finch
Black-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila atrirostris atrirostris) Male
Rioja, San Martín, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.


Lesson's Seedeater
Lesson's Seedeater (Sporophila bouvronides) Male
Venezuela
  Note top of head is black.
   
Photograph by Barlovento from Venezuela     Copyright and usage info

Lesson's Seedeater
Lesson's Seedeater (Sporophila bouvronides) Female
Venezuela  
   
Photograph by Barlovento from Venezuela     Copyright and usage info

Compare to Lined Seedeater, but note black crown. Found in marshes and grassland.

Chestnut-bellied Seedeater
Chestnut-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila castaneiventris) Male
Wildsumaco Lodge, Sumaco, Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Chestnut-bellied Seedeater
Chestnut-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila castaneiventris) Female
Inírida, Guainía, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Variable Seedeater
Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina) Male
Soberania National Park, Panama  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Variable Seedeater
Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina) Male
Tatama National Park, Pueblo Rico, Risaralda, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Variable Seedeater
Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina) Female
Cerro Azul, Panama  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

All black in the north part of range (Central America), while birds further south have a white breast with a crescent-shaped band across the chest.
Male from back with tail spread.

Large-billed Seed Finch
Large-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila crassirostris) Male
Ecuador  
   
Photograph by Brendan Ryan     Copyright and usage info

Large-billed Seed Finch
Large-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila crassirostris) Female
Cocorna, Antioquia, Colombia
  The male is black with a light-colored bill. Female is similar to Thick-billed Seed Finch (ID of this photo not certain).
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Very rare and unreliable.

Thick-billed Seed Finch
Thick-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila funerea ochrogyne) Male
Bahia Solano, Choco, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Thick-billed Seed Finch
Thick-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila funerea) Female
Darien, Panama  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Lined Seedeater
Lined Seedeater (Sporophila lineola) Male
REGUA, Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ, Brazil  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Lined Seedeater
Lined Seedeater (Sporophila lineola) Female
San Martín de Amacayacu, Amazonas, Colombia
  Showing hints of the male coloration, as do many female seedeaters.
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Moves seasonally to northwest Amazon perhaps to eat grass seeds during the low water season. Compare to Lesson's Seedeater but note white crown; females identical.

Black-and-white Seedeater
Black-and-white Seedeater (Sporophila luctuosa) Male
Recinto del Pensamiento, Manizales, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Black-and-white Seedeater
Black-and-white Seedeater (Sporophila luctuosa) Female
Butterfly World, Florida, USA  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Found in the Andes at mid altitude levels in semi-open areas. Locally common at best.

Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta minuta) Male
Puerto Boyacá, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Ruddy-breasted Seedeater
Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta parva) Female
Sabaneta, Antioquia, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

As seen from the latin name minutus, a tiny seedeater that favors grass seeds.
Eating grass seeds

Yellow-bellied Seedeater
Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis nigricollis) Male
Recinto del Pensamiento, Manizales, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Yellow-bellied Seedeater
Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis nigricollis) Female
Otún Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.


Parrot-billed Seedeater
Parrot-billed Seedeater (Sporophila peruviana) Male
Chaparri Reserve, Lambayeque region, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.

Parrot-billed Seedeater
Parrot-billed Seedeater (Sporophila peruviana) Female
Chaparri Reserven, Lambayeque region, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.


Slate-colored Seedeater
Slate-colored Seedeater (Sporophila schistacea schistacea) Male
Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica  
   
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez   © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.

Slate-colored Seedeater
Slate-colored Seedeater (Sporophila schistacea longipennis) Female
Zafra Reserva Natural, Antioquia, Colombia  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Note white eye-ring compared to very similar Grey Seedeater. Generally a lowland species. Not reliable (wanders), but often found in flocks at bamboo when seeds are present (HBW). Note smaller bill with more curved culmen than Grey Seedeater (hard to be sure about).
Female eating bamboo seed.

Drab Seedeater
Drab Seedeater (Sporophila simplex)
Bosque de Yanahuanca, Cajamarca, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas)   © All Rights Reserved.



Chestnut-throated Seedeater
Chestnut-throated Seedeater (Sporophila telasco) Male
Pantanos de Villa, Peru  
   
Photograph by David Ascanio - www.abtbirds.com   © All Rights Reserved.

Chestnut-throated Seedeater
Chestnut-throated Seedeater (Sporophila telasco) Female
Mejía, Peru  
   
Photograph by Tom Friedel   © All Rights Reserved.

Found in arid scrub, and sometimes common in the Peruvian desert.
Additional photo.


© Tom Friedel - All Rights Reserved, except for images and data otherwise noted.       Colombia       Panama       Ecuador       Costa Rica       Mexico
Experimental sites:       Peru       Venezuela       The World       Brazil       Bolivia
Really Experimental sites:       Guyana       Cuba