Asemospiza fuliginosa
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
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 |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Grassquit sighting in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, based on 275 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 336 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Grassquit in Serra dos Órgãos National Park on a given day, against about 30% in June and November–December, the lowest months. Those are among Serra dos Órgãos National Park's driest months, with about 85 mm of rain a month against 310 mm in November.
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.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Sooty Grassquit sightings, Serra dos Órgãos National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, about 10%) and Itatiaia National Park (Brazil, under 5%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Sooty Grassquit that you can see in Serra dos Órgãos National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Bananaquit (about 70%), Saffron Finch (about 70%) and Golden-chevroned Tanager (about 70%), 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 Serra dos Órgãos National Park (275 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.
