Chestnut-throated Seedeater

Chestnut-throated Seedeater

Sporophila telasco

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Lima

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

802 Verified sightings at Lima
70 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Chestnut-throated Seedeater

The chestnut-throated seedeater (Sporophila telasco) is a Neotropical songbird in the family Thraupidae. It is found along the western seaboard of South America, from southwestern Colombia to far northern Chile. The natural habitats of the chestnut-throated seedeater are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, swamps, sandy shores, and heavily degraded former forest along the Pacific coast and montane uplands of western South America, primarily Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.

The species serves as an indicator of declining forest health, as their populations appear to increase following deforestation and land use change. Males possess a rich chestnut patch on the throat in breeding season. Females share a similar color pattern, but lack the throat patch, with a lighter bill, but moult into drab plumage outside of the breeding season. This occurs because the cost of colorful plumage attracting predators is no longer worth taking when breeding activities are completed.

These songbirds are among the smallest members of the tanager family at approximately 4.0 inches in length, and possess powerful bills to harvest grass seeds. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:16

Chile · 2019

© Cristian Pinto · XC492156 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:30

Chile · 2015

© Fabrice Schmitt · XC336410 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:22

Ecuador · 2003

© John V. Moore · XC259868 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lima 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
2 Guayaquil 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Chestnut-throated Seedeater in Lima?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-throated Seedeater sighting in Lima on a given day, based on 802 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 62nd most-seen of the 171 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Chestnut-throated Seedeater in Lima?

February

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut-throated Seedeater in Lima on a given day, against under 5% in July and August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Chestnut-throated Seedeater?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut-throated Seedeater sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Lima the best place to see a Chestnut-throated Seedeater?

Yes

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Chestnut-throated Seedeater sightings, Lima has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Guayaquil (Ecuador, under 5%).

Where does the Chestnut-throated Seedeater sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Chestnut-throated Seedeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Lima (802 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.

← Back to Lima