BLACK-MASKED FINCH Coryphaspiza melanotis VULNERABLE
Everything about the Black-masked Finch is understated, from his muted brownish plumage to his unimpressive lispy call. Why then do birdwatchers get so excited about seeing him? Well, apart from the fact that catching a decent glimpse of one is an achievement in the sea of grass in which they live, the Black-masked Finch is also an extremely rare bird found only in cerrado savanna - officially the fastest disappearing habitat on the planet. If things continue as they are going in the moment, this little bird is only going to get rarer and the birdwatcher´s job even harder.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE2257PH) Adult male, Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Hemme Batjes November 2005).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE2258PH) Adult male, Isla Yacyretá, Departamento Misiones (Sylvia Centrón November 2007).
FIGURE 3 - (FPAVE2259PH) Adult male, Isla Yacyretá, Departamento Misiones (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 4 - (FPAVE2260PH) Same individual (Paul Smith October 2009).
FIGURE 5 - (FPAVE4204PH) Adult male, Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Angie Price August 2016).
FIGURE 6 - (FPAVE4205PH) Same individual upperwing (Angie Price August 2016).
FIGURE 7 - (FPAVE4206PH) Same individual underwing (Angie Price August 2016).
FIGURE 8 - (FPAVE4207PH) Same individual head detail  (Angie Price August 2016).
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Coryphaspiza melanotis
1 (FPAVE2261RE) Song of male  recorded Aguara-Ñu, Mbaracayú Biosphere Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Juan Mazar Barnett November 1997).
2 (FPAVE2262RE) Song of male  recorded Aguara-Ñu, Mbaracayú Biosphere Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Juan Mazar Barnett November 1997).
3 (FPAVE2263RE) Song of male  recorded Aguara-Ñu, Mbaracayú Biosphere Reserve, Departamento Canindeyú (Myriam Velázquez Decmber 1999).
Click the links to hear the calls. Longer versions of this call can be downloaded from the Paraguay page of our partner website Xeno-Canto - the largest collection of freely downloadable Neotropical bird calls available online.
Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Material on this page was provided by Paul Smith, Angie Price, Hemme Batjes, Juan Mazar Barnett, Myriam Velázquez and Silvia Centrón and is used with their permission.