The black-headed brushfinch (''Arremon atricapillus'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family Passerellidae. It lives in the undergrowth of humid forest, especially near edges, at altitudes of in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

.Ridgely, R. S., & J. A. Gwynne, Jr. (1989). ''A Guide to the Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.'' 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. Restall, R. L., C. Rodner, & M. Lentino (2006). ''Birds of Northern South America.'' Christopher Helm. (vol. 1). (vol. 2).

Taxonomy

Until recently, the black-headed brushfinch was placed in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Buarremon ''Arremon'' is a genus of neotropical birds in the family Passerellidae. With the exception of the green-striped brushfinch which is endemic to Mexico, all species are found in South America, with a few reaching Central America. These sparr ...

''.Cadena, C. D., J. Klicka and R. E. Ricklefs. (2007). ''Evolutionary differentiation in the Neotropical montane region: molecular phylogenetics and phylogeography of Buarremon brush-finches (Aves, Emberizidae).'' Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 44(3): 993-1016. The black-headed brushfinch was often treated as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

stripe-headed brushfinch The stripe-headed brushfinch is split into the following species: * White-browed brushfinch, ''Arremon torquatus'' * Grey-browed brushfinch, ''Arremon assimilis'' * Black-headed brushfinch, ''Arremon atricapillus'' * Costa Rican brushfinch, ''Arre ...

(''A. torquatus''), but the distributions of the two approach each other closely in Colombia with no evidence of intergradation.Ridgely, R. S., & G. Tudor. (1989). ''Birds of South America. The Oscine Passerines.'' Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. In addition, the

Costa Rican brushfinch The Costa Rican brushfinch or grey-striped brushfinch (''Arremon costaricensis'') is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae. It lives in the undergrowth of humid forest, especially near the edges, at altitudes of in Panama and Costa Rica ...

, ''A. costaricensis'' has often been treated as a subspecies of the stripe-headed brushfinch, or a subspecies of the black-headed brushfinch, but based on

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, song, and

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

work, it has recently been suggested that ''A. costaricensis'' is worthy of treatment as a species.Cadena, C. D., and A. M. Cuervo (2009). ''Molecules, ecology, morphology, and songs in concert: how many species is Arremon torquatus (Aves: Emberizidae)?'' Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 99(1): 152-176 In that case, the black-headed brushfinch would only include the subspecies ''tacarcunae'', and be restricted to Colombia and eastern Panama.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1923777 black-headed brush finch Birds of Colombia Birds of Panama black-headed brush finch black-headed brush finch