The pale-naped brushfinch (Atlapetes pallidinucha) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Taxonomy and systematics
The pale-naped brushfinch was formally described in 1840 with the binomial Tanagra (Arremon) pallidinucha. It was reassigned to its present genus Atlapetes in 1911.
The pale-naped brushfinch has two subspecies, the nominate A. p. pallidinucha (Boissonneau, 1840) and A. p. papallactae (Hellmayr, 1913).
A. p. papallactae at Papallacta Pass, Ecuador
Description
The pale-naped brushfinch is about 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs about 21 to 40 g (0.74 to 1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a wide pale cinnamon stripe from the forehead to the middle of the crown, a white rear crown and nape, and a black face. Their upperparts are dark slate gray and their wings and tail blackish. Their throat, breast, and belly are bright yellow. Their sides, flanks, and undertail coverts are washed with olivaceous to gray. Juveniles are duller overall than adults with a thin crown streak, a brownish wash on the upperparts, and dusky streaks on the breast. Adults of subspecies A. p. papallactae have a very pale cinnamon or yellow forehead and their underparts except the throat are washed olivaceous to gray. Juveniles are browner than adults and have darker underparts. Adults of both subspecies have a dark chestnut iris, a short, thick, black bill, and pinkish-dusky legs and feet.
Distribution and habitat
The pale-naped brushfinch has a disjunct distribution. The nominate is the more northerly of the two. It is found from far southern Táchira in western Venezuela south in Colombia's Eastern Andes to Cundinamarca Department. Subspecies A. p. papallactae is found in Colombia's Central Andes and south on the eastern Andean slope through Ecuador into far northern Peru to the Marañón River on the border of Piura and Cajamarca departments.
