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Bird name:

White-collared Seedeater

Sporophila torqueola

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Code 4

WCSE

Code 6

SPOTOR

ITIS

179201

ILLUSTRATION

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PHOTOS

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VOTE: ILLUSTRATION

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ADVERTISMENT

Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

SUMMARY

Overview

White-collared Seedeater: Small finch with short, thick, curved bill, yellow-gray overall with black head, wings, and round tail; the back is gray. Wings show two white bars. Eats seeds and insects. Weak fluttering flight, alternates rapid wing beats with brief periods of wings pulled to the sides.


Range and Habitat

White-collared Seedeater: Native of Mexico and Central America with a small nesting range in southern Texas.

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SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to Call

White-collared Seedeater

Voice Text

"sweet-sweet-sweet "wit-wit-wit"

INTERESTING FACTS

  • The White-collared Seedeater was first described in 1850 by Charles Bonaparte, a French naturalist and ornithologist who was the nephew of Napoleon.
  • Historically in the United States, this species was considered common and ranged widely throughout the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, but since the 1960s it has been found only in Zapata and Starr Counties.
  • Habitat destruction and the use of agrochemicals are thought to be the main causes of this decline.
  • A group of seedeaters are collectively known as an "eatery" of seedeaters.

RELATED BIRDS

RANGE MAP

Range Map for White-collared Seedeater

TERMINOLOGY

CREDITS

Author

Jane Wright

Artist

David Wenzel

BIRD PHOTO SHARING

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AND CAMERAS

BINOCULARS AND OPTICS FOR BIRDING

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4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX