The white-winged brushfinch (Atlapetes leucopterus) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Taxonomy
The white-winged brushfinch was formally described in 1856 with the binomial Arremon leucopterus. It later was reassigned to its current genus Atlapetes.
The IOC, the Clements taxonomy, AviList, and the independent South American Classification Committee assign the white-winged brushfinch these three subspecies:
A. l. leucopterus (Jardine, 1856)
A. l. dresseri (Taczanowski, 1883)
A. l. paynteri Fitzpatrick, 1980
Subspecies A. l. paynteri had been formally described in its current subspecies position but in 2016 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) split it as the "cream-crowned brushfinch" (A. paynteri). Clements recognizes some distinction within the species, calling paynteri the "white-winged brushfinch (Paynter's)" and grouping the other two subspecies as the "white-winged brushfinch (white-winged)". AviList also recognizes some differences, and notes that "a comprehensive genetic analysis is lacking; further research needed".
This article follows the three-subspecies model.
Description
The white-winged brushfinch is about 15.5 cm (6.1 in) long and weighs about 19 to 26 g (0.67 to 0.92 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies A. l. leucopterus have a russet stripe from the forecrown to the nape; it is darkest on the forecrown. Their face is mostly blackish with a buff-white spot above the lores and a wide white lower cheek with a thin black line below it. Their upperparts and tail are dark gray. Their wings are dark gray with white bases on the primaries and white on the marginal coverts. Their throat, breast, and belly are mostly whitish with some speckles at the edge of the throat and a buffy and grayish wash on the sides of the breast and the flanks. Juveniles have a buffy head stripe, olive upperparts,...
