Bird Guide

Great-billed Seed Finch

Sporophila maximiliani

EndangeredEndemicSeedsWetlandCup nestSmall · 25 g

About the Great-billed Seed Finch

The great-billed seed finch is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, swamps, and heavily degraded former forest. They are found in two separate general populations, one in the northern Amazon rainforest and the other in the Cerrado. They live in flooded areas with nests low to the ground. The adults express strong sexual dimorphism. Males are black with white under wing-coverts and ivory white bills, and the females are generally light brown with white under wing-coverts and black bills. Both the male and female have very large, thick bills. The great-billed seed finch has a melodious call, which has made it a target…

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

ID tip

The great-billed seed finch is sexually dimorphic. They have an extremely large and thick bill, that is chalky white in males and black in females. The beak volume is about 840mm³. The males are black with white or white and black under wing-coverts. The females have a warm brown back and a buffy brown belly with white under wing-coverts. The females are very similar to other adult females of the Sporophila genus. Both the male and female great-billed seed finch are very similar in appearance to the male and female large-billed seed finch. It is a medium-sized finch at around 14.5–16.5 cm (5.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Great-billed Seed Finch

Peak activity in January · a variable species across most of its range

Easily confused with

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