Rhopospina fruticeti
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The mourning sierra finch (Rhopospina fruticeti) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru and has been recorded as a vagrant to Brazil and the Falkland Islands.
The mourning sierra finch was formally described and illustrated in 1833 by the German naturalist Heinrich von Kittlitz with the binomial Fringilla fruticeti. The species was later reassigned to the genus Phrygilus. Both the genera Fringilla and Phrygilus were in the finch family Fringillidae but multiple studies published in the early 2000s showed that Phrygilus belonged in the tanager family Thraupidae. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that Phrygilus was polyphyletic, and in the subsequent rearrangement, the mourning sierra finch was moved to the resurrected genus Rhopospina that had been introduced in 1851 by Jean Cabanis. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek rhōps meaning "bush" with spina meaning "finch". The specific epithet is from the Latin fruticetum meaning "thicket".
The mourning sierra finch has these three subspecies: Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mourning Sierra-Finch sighting in La Paz on a given day, based on 37 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 42nd most-seen of the 88 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mourning Sierra-Finch in La Paz on a given day, against under 5% in June and September, the lowest months. That is one of La Paz's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain against 10 mm in June.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mourning Sierra-Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Mourning Sierra-Finch sightings, La Paz ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Santiago (Chile, about 10%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Mourning Sierra-Finch that you can see in La Paz (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Peruvian Sierra-Finch (about 60%), Golden-billed Saltator (about 50%) and Gray-bellied Flowerpiercer (about 50%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mourning Sierra-Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in La Paz (37 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
