Zonotrichia capensis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It has diverse vocalizations, which have been intensely studied since the 1970s, particularly by Paul Handford and Stephen C. Lougheed (UWO), Fernando Nottebohm (Rockefeller University) and Pablo Luis Tubaro (UBA). Local names for this bird include the Portuguese tico-tico and mariquinha, the Aymara Pichitanka the Spanish copetón ("tufted") in Colombia, as well as chingolo and chincol, comemaíz "corn eater" in Costa Rica, chincol in Chile and Cigua de Constanza in the Dominican Republic.
The rufous-collared sparrow is 13.5–15 cm (5+1⁄4–6 in) long and weighs 20–25 g (0.71–0.88 oz). The adult has a stubby grey bill, and a grey head with broad black stripes on the crown sides, and thinner stripes through the eye and below the cheeks. The nape and breast sides are rufous, and the upperparts are black-streaked buff-brown. There are two white wing bars. The throat is white, and the underparts are off-white, becoming brown on... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quito | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 2 | Arequipa | 🇵🇪 Peru | |
| 3 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 4 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 6 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Rosario | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | Montevideo | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | |
| 9 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 10 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Bioparque Municipal Vesty Pakos | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 4 | Parque de las Leyendas | 🇵🇪 Peru |
Very likely
About 90% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-collared Sparrow sighting in Quito on a given day, based on 3,107 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 167 birds we can rate there.
January and November
In those months over 90% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous-collared Sparrow in Quito on a given day, against about 90% in February–October and December, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous-collared Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 31 cities where we can rate Rufous-collared Sparrow sightings, Quito has the highest daily chance: about 90%. Next come Arequipa (Peru, about 90%) and La Paz (Bolivia, about 90%).
Same family: Passerellidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous-collared Sparrow that you can see in Quito (family Passerellidae, New World Sparrows) are Yellow-breasted Brush-Finch (about 20%), Gray-browed Brushfinch (about 10%) and White-winged Brush-Finch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous-collared Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Quito (3,107 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.
