Canary-winged finch
| White-bridled finch | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Melanodera |
| Species: | M. melanodera |
| Binomial name | |
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Melanodera melanodera (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) |
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The white-bridled finch (Melanodera melanodera), also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Melanodera together with the yellow-bridled finch (M. xanthogramma). Formerly placed in the family Emberizidae, it is now considered a tanager. It is found in grassland in southernmost South America. There are two subspecies: M. m. melanodera in the Falkland Islands and M. m. princetoniana in southern Argentina and Chile.
The male is grey-green above and yellow below with a grey head and upper breast. It has a black throat and mask which are bordered with white. There are large yellow patches in the wings and tail. Females are brown with dark streaks. They have yellow outer tail-feathers and yellow fringes to the wing feathers.
It is 14–15 cm long. Birds on the mainland are smaller than those on the Falklands with a smaller bill and more yellow in the wings and tail.
The call is a short, high-pitched note and the song is a repeated series of two or three whistles. It sings from a low perch such as a rock or grass tussock.
It is common throughout the Falklands where it occurs up to about 150m above sea-level but is most often found in coastal areas. On the South American mainland it is thinly-distributed up to 580m above sea-level in Magallanes Region in Chile and Santa Cruz Province in Argentina. Its range extends southwards from about 47°S to northern Tierra del Fuego. It is typically found in flat areas of grassland, heathland, farmland or dunes.
The population on the Falklands is about 7,000-14,000 pairs and the species is not considered to be threatened. However it is thought to be declining on the mainland because of overgrazing.
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Wikipedia