Many-coloured Chaco-finch

Saltatricula multicolor

Photo by Victor Merlino (Ecoregistros)

Common name:
many-coloured Chaco-finch (en); bico-de-pimenta-chaquenho (pt); saltatricule du Chaco (fr); pepitero chico (es); vielfarbenammer (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Emberizidae

Range:
This species is found from south-eastern Bolivia and western Paraguay  south to northern Argentina, Uruguay and marginally into south-western Brazil.

Size:
These birds are 18 cm long and weigh 20-25 g.

Habitat:
This species is mostly found in dry scrublands, but also uses dry tropical forests from sea level up to an altitude of 600 m.

Diet:
They feed mainly on grass seeds but are also known to feed faculatively on sap released from drillings of the white-fronted woodpecker Melanerpes cactorum.

Breeding:
The many-coloured Chaco-finch breed in October-March. They nest in an open cup made of grass and scrub stems, lined with feathers, plant fibres and hair. The nest is placed 1-2 m above the ground in a small tree or scrub. The female lays 3-4 eggs which are incubated for 14 days. The chicks fledge 8 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be in decline owing to the likelihood of ongoing habitat destruction.