The Bolivian brushfinch (Atlapetes rufinucha) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is endemic to Bolivia.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Bolivian brushfinch was formally described in 1837 with the binomial Embernagra rufi-nucha. By the end of the twentieth century it had been reassigned to its present genus Atlapetes and acquired the English name "rufus-naped brushfinch". By then had been assigned many subspecies but it was suspected that most of them deserved to be treated as full species. Early in the twenty-first century all but two of the subspecies were split as species. At that time A. rufinucha was renamed the Bolivian brushfinch to avoid confusion with the pre-split version.
The two subspecies of the Bolivian brushfinch are the nominate A. r. rufinucha (Lafresnaye & D'Orbigny, 1837) and A. r. carrikeri (Bond and Meyer de Schauensee, 1939).
Description
The Bolivian brushfinch is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long and weighs about 21 to 22 g (0.74 to 0.78 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a blackish forehead and a rufous crown and nape. Their face is mostly blackish with a bright yellow spot above the lores and a yellow "moustache" with a blackish line below it. Their upperparts are blackish with a greenish wash on the rump. Their tail is blackish with olive feather edges. Their wings are blackish with olive edges on the flight feathers. Their throat is bright yellow; their underparts are yellow with a greenish wash on the sides and flanks. Juveniles have browner upperparts than adults with a brown wash and faint streaks on the underparts. Subspecies A. r. carrikeri is smaller than the nominate with no yellow spot above the lores and olive-greenish upperparts. Both subspecies have a dark reddish iris, a black bill, and blackish gray legs and feet.
Distribution and habitat
The Bolivian brushfinch has a disjunct distribution in the Bolivian Andes. The nominate subspecies is the more northerly of the two...
