Asemospiza fuliginosa
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10%
The sooty grassquit (Asemospiza fuliginosa) is a small bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Trinidad, Venezuela, and as a vagrant to Bolivia.
The sooty grassquit was formally described in 1830 with the binomial Fringilla fuliginosa. By 1970 it had been reassigned to the genus Tiaris. Based on studies published in 2014 and 2015, in 2016 Burns et al. erected the genus Asemospiza with the sooty grassquit as the type species and including the dull-colored grassquit (A. obscura). The genus is closely related to Darwin's finches.
The sooty grassquit is monotypic. The sooty grassquit is 10 to 11.4 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long and weighs 11 to 16 g (0.39 to 0.56 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males are sooty blackish with an olive tinge on the back and slightly paler underparts. Adult females are a rich olive-brown that is darker on their upperparts than underparts. Both sexes have a dark iris, dark legs and feet, and a dark bill though the female's is slightly lighter. Juveniles are like adult females.
The sooty grassquit... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Serra dos Órgãos National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Henri Pittier National Park | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 3 | Itatiaia National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Iguazú National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Iguaçu National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Grassquit sighting in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 253rd most-seen of the 352 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Grassquit in Itatiaia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sooty Grassquit sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Sooty Grassquit sightings, Itatiaia National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (Brazil, about 50%) and Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, about 10%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Sooty Grassquit that you can see in Itatiaia National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Saffron Finch (about 60%), Sayaca Tanager (about 60%) and Green-winged Saltator (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sooty Grassquit is recorded against all the birds logged in Itatiaia National Park (31 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.
