Coryphaspiza melanotis
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The black-masked finch (Coryphaspiza melanotis) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru. The black-masked finch was formally described in 1822 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck with the binomial Emberizoides melanotis. The type locality is São Paulo, Brazil. The species is now placed in the genus Coryphaspiza that was introduced by George Robert Gray in 1840 with the black-masked finch as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek koruphē meaning "crown of the head" with spiza meaning "finch". The specific epithet melanotis combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with -ōtis meaning "-eared".
When Gray erected genus Coryphaspiza he retained it in the subfamily Emberizinae of the family Emberizidae, which at the time included both New World sparrows and New World buntings. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the black-masked finch belonged in the tanager family Thraupidae. Within Thraupidae the black-masked finch is now placed with genera Embernagra and Emberizoides in the subfamily Emberizoidinae... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emas National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Serra da Canastra National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-masked Finch sighting in Emas National Park on a given day, based on 44 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 90th most-seen of the 187 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-masked Finch in Emas National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March, May and July–August, the lowest months. That is one of Emas National Park's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain against 190 mm in January. April and December–February have too few records to rate.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-masked Finch sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Black-masked Finch sightings, Emas National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Serra da Canastra National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Black-masked Finch that you can see in Emas National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Black-throated Saltator (about 70%), Blue-black Grassquit (about 70%) and Saffron Finch (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-masked Finch is recorded against all the birds logged in Emas National Park (44 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
