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.
Photographs on this page were taken by Paul Smith and are used with their permission.
SOOTY GRASSQUIT Tiaris fuliginosus
Sooty Grassquit is a rare bird, and the individual in the photograph is one of very few records of the species in Paraguay. They are secretive inhabits of humid forest undergrowth where they have a particular liking for Chusquea - the dreaded, impenetrable tangly bamboo! Males are a dark sooty-black colour (which is where the species gets its name) with a bright pink mouth lining! They are superficially similar to the Blue-Black Grassquit, though the latter is a much commoner species that occurs in open habitats - the two would not likely occur together.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPAVE3129PH) Adult female, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Paul Smith February 1007).
FIGURE 2 - (FPAVE3130PH) Same individual upperwing (Paul Smith February 2007).
The bill on this specimen is particularly large which initially created problems when trying to identify it. Thanks to Rob Clay and John Bates for their assistance.
FIGURE 1

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2

FIGURE 2