The Ecuadorian seedeater (''Amaurospiza aequatorialis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of bird in the cardinal

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (often referred to as the "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply the "cardinals") is a family of New World-endemic passerine birds that consists of cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. It also includes several birds such as the tanager-like ...

that the

International Ornithological Committee The International Ornithologists' Union, formerly known as the International Ornithological Committee, is a group of about 200 international ornithologists, and is responsible for the International Ornithological Congress and other international ...

(IOC) accepted as a species in 2015. (But see the taxonomy section below.) It is found in the Andes in southwestern Colombia through Ecuador to northern Peru.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Ecuadorian seedeater was formally described in 1888 by the English ornithologist

Richard Bowdler Sharpe Richard Bowdler Sharpe (22 November 1847 – 25 December 1909) was an English zoologist and ornithologist who worked as curator of the bird collection at the British Museum of natural history. In the course of his career he published several mono ...

based on specimens collected in Ecuador. He coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Amaurospiza aequatorialis''. The specific epithet is

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

for "equatorial", a name commonly used for species from Ecuador, ''ecuador'' means "equator" in Spanish. In 2015 the IOC split the subspecies ''Amaurospiza concolor aequatorialis'' from the blue seedeater (''Amaurospiza concolor''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

) as the Ecuadorian seedeater (''Amaurospiza aequatorialis'') and renamed ''A. concolor'' Cabanis's seedeater. The decision was based on a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study published in 2014. However, the South American Classification Committee of the

American Ornithological Society The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...

(AOS) had previously rejected the split, and as of May 2021 the AOS North American Committee has not considered it and the

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

has not adopted it.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 19 January 2021. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm Retrieved 19 January 2021Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved 15 August 2019 Confusingly, BirdLife International uses the scientific name ''A. moesta'' for blue seedeater, but the IOC, AOS, and Clements assign that

binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms * Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition ...

to blackish-blue seedeater. The BirdLife account encompasses what are now Cabanis's, Ecuadorian, and blackish-blue seedeaters.BirdLife International. 2018. ''Amaurospiza moesta''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T105965570A132047632. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T105965570A132047632.en. Retrieved 16 May 2021. The Ecuadorian seedeater is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

Description

The male Ecuadorian seedeater is mostly a pale slate blue; its crown is a lighter indigo. The female's upperparts are cinnamon and the underparts tawny.Ramos-Ordoñez, M. F., C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, M. d. C. Arizmendi, A. Jaramillo, and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Blue Seedeater (''Amaurospiza concolor''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.blusee1.01 Retrieved 16 May 2021

Distribution and habitat

The Ecuadorian seedeater is found on the west slope of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

from southwestern Colombia's Nariño Department through western and central Ecuador into northern Peru, perhaps as far south as the

Department of Piura Piura () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The region's capital is Piura and its largest port cities, Paita and Talara, are also among the most important in Peru. The area is known for its tropical and dry beaches. It is ...

. It inhabits openings in and edges of humid

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

and

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. ...

and is closely associated with bamboo. In elevation it ranges mostly from and locally as low as .

Behavior

Feeding

The Ecuadorian seedeater's diet includes insects, seeds, and bamboo shoots.

Breeding

No information about the Ecuadorian seedeater' breeding

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

has been published.

Vocalization

An example of the Ecuadorian seedeater's song i

Its call i

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has not assessed the Ecuadorian seedeater.

References

External links

Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the Ecuadorian seedeater
{{Taxonbar, from=Q20801648

Ecuadorian seedeater The Ecuadorian seedeater (''Amaurospiza aequatorialis'') is a species of bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae that the International Ornithological Committee (IOC) accepted as a species in 2015. (But see the taxonomy section below.) It is ...

Birds of Colombia Birds of Ecuador Birds of Peru