Prevost's ground sparrow

Prevost's ground sparrow
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Passerellidae
Genus:	Melozone
Species:	M. biarcuata
Binomial name
Melozone biarcuata ( Des Murs , 1842)
Synonyms
Melozone biarcuatum

Prevost's ground sparrow (Melozone biarcuata), also known as the white-faced ground sparrow, is an

Etymology

Its English name commemorates French naturalist Florent Prévost.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

This bird breeds at middle altitudes from southern Mexico to western Honduras. The Cabanis's ground sparrow was previously considered a subspecies. It is found typically at altitudes between 600 and 1600 m in the undergrowth and thickets of semi-open woodland, coffee plantations, hedgerows and large gardens.^[3]

Description

Prevost's ground sparrow is on average 15 cm long and weighs 28 g. The adult has a stubby dark-grey bill, unstreaked olive-brown upperparts, a rufous crown and mainly white underparts. Young birds are browner above, have yellower underparts, and a duller indistinct head pattern. It has a simple head pattern in which the rufous of the crown extends down the sides of the neck as a half collar behind the white face.

Behaviour

Usually found in pairs, the bird is a shy species best seen at or near dusk. They sometimes venture in the open in the early morning.^[3]

Breeding

The nest, built by the female, is a neat lined

The bird feeds on the ground on seeds, fallen berries, insects and spiders.

Voice

Calls include a thin tsit or a clearer psee. The male's song, given from a hidden perch in the wet season, is a whistled pst’t’t’t peer peer peer whee whee whee.

References