About the Variable Seedeater
The variable seedeater is a passerine bird which breeds from southern Mexico through Central America to the Chocó of northwestern South America. The taxonomy is confusing, and it was formerly considered a subspecies of Sporophila americana. Even within the variable seedeater as presently defined, there are great variations in plumage.
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ID tip
The variable seedeater is a small, robust bird with a black conical bill. It is 10.5 cm (4.1 in) long and weighs 11 g (0.39 oz). There are four subspecies, which differ primarily in the plumage of the male: S. c. corvina – (P.L. Sclater, 1860): (nominate), found from southern Mexico and along the Caribbean slope from Belize south to Panama. Adult males are entirely black apart from a small white wing-speculum and white wing linings. S. c. hoffmannii – Cabanis, 1861: found on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica and Panama. Males resemble males S. c.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where it lives
When to see it
Peak activity in March · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Morelet's SeedeaterSporophila morelletiMorelet's seedeater is a passerine bird in the typical seedeater genus Sporophila.
Yellow-bellied SeedeaterSporophila nigricollisThe yellow-bellied seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, formerly placed with the New World sparrows in the Emberizidae.
Double-collared SeedeaterSporophila caerulescensIt is a dimorphic species, with the male having a gray head and back, a black-collared throat, paired with a black band just below, across the upper whitish breast.
Side by side: Variable Seedeater vs Yellow-faced Grassquit · Double-collared Seedeater vs Variable Seedeater
Learn the Variable Seedeater for real
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