Birds of the World - Sporophila


White-throated Seedeater (Sporophila albogularis) Range: SA: e Brazil Sitio Pau d'Arco, Potengi, Brazil
Photograph by Rodrigo Conte © All Rights Reserved.


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


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


Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch (Sporophila angolensis) Male Range: SA: n, e Amazonia Villavicencio, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut-bellied Seed Finch (Sporophila angolensis torrida) Female Range: SA: n, e Amazonia 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.


Dubois's Seedeater (Sporophila ardesiaca) Male Range: SA: se Brazil Sacramento, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.


Black-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila atrirostris atrirostris) Male Range: SA: far sc Colombia and e Ecuador to c Bolivia Rioja, San Martín, Peru
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Tropeiro Seedeater (Sporophila beltoni) Male Vulnerable Range: SA: s Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná) Santa Catarina, Brazil
Photograph by Marco Cruz © All Rights Reserved.

Recently split from Plumbeous Seedeater. On male note yellow bill, bluish color, and sightly larger size (HBW).


Copper Seedeater (Sporophila bouvreuil) Male Range: SA: s Suriname and e, se Brazil Reserva Biologica do Rio Descoberto, Brasilia, Brazil
Photograph by Rodrigo Conte © All Rights Reserved.


Lesson's Seedeater (Sporophila bouvronides) Male Range: SA: n Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago and the Guianas Venezuela Note top of head is black.
Photograph by Barlovento from Venezuela Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.


Lesson's Seedeater (Sporophila bouvronides) Female Range: SA: n Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Tobago and the Guianas Venezuela
Photograph by Barlovento from Venezuela Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.

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


Double-collared Seedeater (Sporophila caerulescens) Male Range: SA: c, sc, se Itatiaia National Park, RJ, Brazil
Photograph by João Sérgio Barros F. de Souza © All Rights Reserved.


Double-collared Seedeater (Sporophila caerulescens caerulescens) Female Range: SA: c, sc, se Ituzaingó, Argentina
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila castaneiventris) Male Range: SA: Guiana Shield and Amazonia Wildsumaco Lodge, Sumaco, Ecuador
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila castaneiventris) Female Range: SA: Guiana Shield and Amazonia Inírida, Guainía, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut Seedeater (Sporophila cinnamomea) Male Vulnerable Range: SA: s Paraguay, ne Argentina, s Brazil and Uruguay Uruguay
Photograph by Dario Niz This image has been placed in the public domain.


Rusty-collared Seedeater (Sporophila collaris) Male Range: SA: sc, se Laguna Oca, Formosa, Argentina
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Rusty-collared Seedeater (Sporophila collaris melanocephala) Female Range: SA: sc, se Iberá, Argentina
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina) Male Range: MA, SA: e Mexico to Peru Tatama National Park, Pueblo Rico, Risaralda, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina) Male Range: MA, SA: e Mexico to Peru Soberania National Park, Panama
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Variable Seedeater (Sporophila corvina) Female Range: MA, SA: e Mexico to Peru 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 (Sporophila crassirostris) Male Range: SA: n, w SA Ecuador
Photograph by Brendan Ryan Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one.


Large-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila crassirostris) Female Range: SA: n, w SA 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.


Temminck's Seedeater (Sporophila falcirostris) Male Vulnerable Range: SA: se Brazil, e Paraguay and ne Argentina Parque Estadual da Serra da Cantareira, Sao Paulo-SP, Brazil
Photograph by Dario Sanches Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one.


Temminck's Seedeater (Sporophila falcirostris) Female Vulnerable Range: SA: se Brazil, e Paraguay and ne Argentina Brazil
Photograph by João Sérgio Barros F. de Souza © All Rights Reserved.


White-naped Seedeater (Sporophila fringilloides) Range: SA: n, nw Amazonia Mitu, Vaupes, Colombia
Photograph by Manakin Nature Tours - Luis Urueña © All Rights Reserved.


Buffy-fronted Seedeater (Sporophila frontalis) Vulnerable Range: SA: e Paraguay and ne Argentina; se Brazil Itatiaia National Park, Brazil
Photograph by João Sérgio Barros F. de Souza © All Rights Reserved.


Thick-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila funerea ochrogyne) Male Range: MA, SA: se Mexico to sw Ecuador Bahia Solano, Choco, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Thick-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila funerea) Female Range: MA, SA: se Mexico to sw Ecuador Darien, Panama
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Rufous-rumped Seedeater (Sporophila hypochroma) Immature Male Near Threatened Range: SA: c Paraguay and ne Argentina Iberá, Argentina Note chest and belly will have the same deep red color.
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

Very similar to Tawny-bellied Seedeater but note rich dark red color consistent from throat to vent.


Tawny-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila hypoxantha) Male Range: SA: se Paraguay and s Brazil to ne Argentina and w Uruguay Porto Jofre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Photograph by Dave Curtis Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

Very similar to Rufous-rumped Seedeater but note variation in a paler red between chest and lighter throat.


Ibera Seedeater (Sporophila iberaensis) Male Endangered Range: SA: flooded lowland grasslands in ne Argentina Aquidauana, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.

Found in the Ibera wetlands in Argentina and only described in 2016.


Grey Seedeater (Sporophila intermedia bogotensis) Male Range: SA: n Laguna Sonso, Buga, Colombia The slightly darker Cauca race.
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Grey Seedeater (Sporophila intermedia intermedia) Male Range: SA: n Copacabana, Antioquia, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Grey Seedeater (Sporophila intermedia bogotensis) Female Range: SA: n Laguna Sonso, Buga, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


White-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila leucoptera) Male Range: SA: c, e, sc Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Lined Seedeater (Sporophila lineola) Male Range: SA: ne, s Brazil to n Argentina REGUA, Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ, Brazil
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Lined Seedeater (Sporophila lineola) Female Range: SA: ne, s Brazil to n Argentina 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 (Sporophila luctuosa) Male Range: SA: Venezuela to Bolivia Recinto del Pensamiento, Manizales, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Black-and-white Seedeater (Sporophila luctuosa) Female Range: SA: Venezuela to Bolivia 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.


Great-billed Seed Finch (Sporophila maximiliani) Male Endangered Range: SA: e Bolivia to c, e Brazil; also Trinidad and e Venezuela; w Guyana and e French Guiana to n Brazil Mato Grosso, Brazil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.


Black-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila melanogaster) Male Near Threatened Range: SA: se Brazil Serra Geral National Park, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta minuta) Male Range: MA, SA: sw Mexico through n SA Puerto Boyacá, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Ruddy-breasted Seedeater (Sporophila minuta parva) Female Range: MA, SA: sw Mexico through n SA 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


Morelet's Seedeater (Sporophila morelleti morelleti) Male Range: NA, MA: s Texas, e Mexico to Panama Costa Rica Race without cinnamon colors found from east Mexico to Panama.
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Morelet's Seedeater (Sporophila morelleti sharpei) Male Range: NA, MA: s Texas, e Mexico to Panama Zacate Creek, Laredo, Texas, The sharpei subspecies in northeast Mexico has the cinnamon color of the Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater on the west coast, but otherwise is like the Morelet's Seedeater found throughout Central America.
Photograph by Alan Schmierer Image has been placed in the Public Domain.


Morelet's Seedeater (Sporophila morelleti) Female Range: NA, MA: s Texas, e Mexico to Panama Caño Negro, Costa Rica Note wing bars.
Photograph by Tom Benson Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.


Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis nigricollis) Male Range: MA, SA: Costa Rica to Bolivia Recinto del Pensamiento, Manizales, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Yellow-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila nigricollis nigricollis) Female Range: MA, SA: Costa Rica to Bolivia Otún Quimbaya Wildlife Sanctuary, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.


Black-and-tawny Seedeater (Sporophila nigrorufa) Male Vulnerable Range: SA: sw Brazil and Bolivia Vila Bela da Santíssima, Trindade, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Photograph by Hector Bottai Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.


Nicaraguan Seed Finch (Sporophila nuttingi) Male Range: MA: Nicaragua to far n Panama Medio Queso, Los Chiles, Costa Rica
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Nicaraguan Seed Finch (Sporophila nuttingi) Female Range: MA: Nicaragua to far n Panama Medio Queso, Los Chiles, Costa Rica
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Marsh Seedeater (Sporophila palustris) Male Endangered Range: SA: ne Argentina, Uruguay and s Brazil Brazil
Photograph by Cláudio D. Timm Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one.


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


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


Pearly-bellied Seedeater (Sporophila pileata) Male Range: SA: ne Bolivia, c, s Brazil, Paraguay, ne Argentina and Uruguay Parque Ecológico da Granja do Ipê, Brasilia, Brazil
Photograph by Rodrigo Conte © All Rights Reserved.


Plumbeous Seedeater (Sporophila plumbea whiteleyana) Male Range: SA: n, c, sc French Guiana
Photograph by Michel GIRAUD-AUDINE © All Rights Reserved.


Plumbeous Seedeater (Sporophila plumbea whiteleyana) Female Range: SA: n, c, sc El Oso, Bolivar, Venezuela
Photograph by Fernando Flores Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one.

Note dark bill compared to similar species.


Dark-throated Seedeater (Sporophila ruficollis) Male Near Threatened Range: SA: se Bolivia and sw Brazil to ne Argentina and Uruguay Porto Jofre, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Photograph by Dave Curtis Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.


Slate-colored Seedeater (Sporophila schistacea schistacea) Male Range: MA, SA: s Mexico to n Ecuador and n Brazil Jaco, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Photograph by Jorge Obando Gutierrez © Copyrighted, All Rights Reserved.


Slate-colored Seedeater (Sporophila schistacea longipennis) Female Range: MA, SA: s Mexico to n Ecuador and n Brazil 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 (Sporophila simplex) Range: SA: sw Ecuador and w Peru Bosque de Yanahuanca, Cajamarca, Peru
Photograph by Tropical Birding (Nick Athanas) © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut-throated Seedeater (Sporophila telasco) Male Range: SA: far sw Colombia to far nw Chile Pantanos de Villa, Peru
Photograph by David Ascanio - www.abtbirds.com © All Rights Reserved.


Chestnut-throated Seedeater (Sporophila telasco) Female Range: SA: far sw Colombia to far nw Chile Mejía, Peru
Photograph by Tom Friedel © All Rights Reserved.

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


Cinnamon-rumped Seedeater (Sporophila torqueola torqueola) Male Range: MA: w Mexico Mexico
Photograph by Nigel from Vancouver Copyright and usage info This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported. In short: you are free to share the file for non-commercial purposes under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.