Nombre en español: Espiguero Ladrillo

Nombre en ingles: Ruddy-breasted Seedeater

Nombre científico: Sporophila minuta

Familia: Thraupidae

Foto: Carlos Martinez/Mauricio Ossa/Leandro Vargas/Alejandro Cartagena

Canto: Andrew Spencer

El semillerito pechicanelo, semillero pechirrufo o espiguero menudo (Sporophila minuta) es una especie de ave paseriforme de la familia Thraupidae propia de México, América Central y el norte de América del Sur.

Descripción

Los adultos miden unos 9 cm y pesa 8 g. El pico es cónico, grueso en la base y relativamente corto. Los machos son de color gris opaco en las partes dorsales, y color canela en las partes ventrales y la rabadilla. Puede haber algo de blanco en las alas. Las hembras son pardas pálidas, de coloración más diluida en el pecho y con tintes amarillentos en rabadilla y vientre.

Distribución y hábitat

Habita sobre todo en campos abiertos, donde abundan los matorrales y pastos, y en sabanas; en tierras bajas de altas temperaturas. También aparece en jardines, parques y campos de cultivo. Su alimentación es principalmente a base de semillas. Se distribuye por México desde las tierras semiáridas del suroeste (Nayarit y Jalisco) hacia el sur, a lo largo de toda la vertiente pacífica. Se distribuye a través de toda América Central, en el norte de Sudamérica hasta las Guayanas y en la isla de Trinidad. Su límite sur se encuentra en el norteste de Brasil, Colombia y Ecuador.

La temporada reproductiva comprende de junio a agosto. Sus nidos son cuencos elaborados de raicillas, pastos y otras fibras vegetales, y se construyen sobre árboles o arbustos.

El canto del macho es parecido al del canario (Serinus canaria), generalmente terminando con un zumbido.

Ruddy-breasted seedeater

The ruddy-breasted seedeater (Sporophila minuta) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, and heavily degraded former forest.

Although all Sporophila are small finches, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater is notable for being one of the smallest-bodied members of this genus. This also is one of the most northerly species of seedeater, and occurs from southern Mexico south to northern South America. Within this region, the male is recognized readily by its rufous underparts and rump, with contrast sharply with the gray-brown crown and back. This same color pattern is shared with several species of seedeater from southern South America, such as Tawny-bellied (Sporophila hypoxantha) and Rufous-rumped (Sporophila hypochroma) seedeaters, but Ruddy-breasted Seedeater apparently is more closely related to Chestnut-bellied Seedeater(Sporophila castaneiventris) of Amazonia, which has a gray rump. Female Ruddy-breasted Seedeaters are much more nondescript, as is typical of female Sporophila, but usually can be identified by the small size, buffy color, and pale bill. Like other Sporophila, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater primarily forages on grass seeds in open habitats, and often forages in flocks outside of the breeding season. The nest is a simple cup, but is notable because it usually contains a few stem grass stems that stick up above the rim of the cup. Unlike many other species of Sporophila, Ruddy-breasted Seedeater is not commonly kept as a cage bird, and so remains relatively common in countries such as Trinidad, where trapping has led to declines in the populations of other species.