Morelet's seedeater


Morelet's seedeater is a passerine bird in the typical seedeater genus Sporophila.

Taxonomy

This species has been split into two species of the paraphyletic white-collared seedeater, which are not known to intergrade. The S. torqueola group, comprising the subspecies torqueola and atriceps and commonly known as the cinnamon-rumped seedeater, is found from Sinaloa and Durango to western and southern Oaxaca. S. morelleti group, comprising the subspecies morelleti, sharpei, and mutanda and commonly known as Morelet's seedeater, is found throughout the rest of the species' range.

Distribution and habitat

It ranges from a small area along the Rio Grande near San Ignacio, Texas in the United States south through eastern Mexico and Central America to Panama. It mainly inhabits tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands but can also be found in pastures, arable land, and heavily degraded former forests.

Foraging

The Morelet's seedeater eats mainly seeds and insects, and occasionally berries. It often forages on herbaceous plants, and less often on the ground. In captivity, it drinks and bathes often, but in the wild no drinking was observed, even though more than 300 hours of field notes were taken.

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