Long-tailed reed-finch

Donacospiza albifrons

Photo by Cláudio Timm (Wikipedia)

Common name:
long-tailed reed-finch (en); tico-tico-do-banhado (pt); donacospize des marais (fr); cachilo canela (es); riedammerfink (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Emberizidae

Range:
This species is found from south-eastern Brazil south to eastern Paraguay, Uruguay and north-eastern Argentina, and there is also a disjunct population in northern Bolivia.

Size:
These birds are 14-15 cm long and weigh 14-16,5 g.

Habitat:
The long-tailed reed-finch is mostly found in marshes and reedbeds with tall emergent vegetation such as Typha, Eryngium, Scirpus, also using wet grasslands and moist scrubland. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 1.000 m.

Diet:
They feed mainly on insects, but also take seeds. Sometimes they follow army ant swarms to hunt the insects flushes by the ants.

Breeding:
These birds breed in October-June. They nest in a cup made of plant fibres but there is no further information on the reproduction of this species.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as fairly common but patchily distributed. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.