Ochre-breasted Brush Finch

The ocher breast Buschammer ( Atlapetes semi rufus) is a species of bird in the bunting family ( Emberizidae ). The species has a large distribution area, which includes the South American countries Colombia and Venezuela. The stock is assessed by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The ocher breast Buschammer reaches a body length of about 18 centimeters. The top is olive colored. The head, the throat and chest are orange. The rear part of the underside is yellow. The sides and under tail-coverts are olive -colored.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs in moist to wet forest edges and in xerophytic embossed secondary vegetation before at altitudes between 600 to 2700 meters. They are found more often in the Cordillera, as in the Andes.

Behavior

The bird is more of a quiet and little conspicuous contemporary. He usually sits quietly in the thicket. From time to time he lost his way even into the open terrain, twitters and balzt this relatively conspicuous. You can put it alone, in pairs or small family discover droves. He feeds on berries and fruits. In the morning you can most likely watch him in the bushes of forest edges. Only occasionally he follows other birds.

Subspecies

There are five described subspecies, which differ mainly in their coloring and their area of ​​distribution:

  • Atlapetes semi rufus rufus semi ( Boissonneau, 1840) - nominate. Occurs in Páramo de Coachi.
  • Atlapetes semi rufus zimmeri Meyer de Schauensee, 1947 - subspecies differs from all forms by the darker, dull, gray-green back. The head and especially the breast are much brighter red. Occurs on the eastern slopes of the Andes of the Departamento de Boyacá on the Rio Negro.
  • Atlapetes semi rufus majusculus Todd, 1919 - is very similar to the nominate but is slightly larger and consistently lighter. Present in Peña Blanca in Departamento de Boyacá up purely to the bordering department of Santander
  • Atlapetes semi rufus denisei ( Hellmayr, 1911) - but is very similar to A. s benedettii is slightly darker. Comes in the subptropischen zones in the central to northeastern northern Venezuela, among others in Cumbre de Valencia. From the Federal Guárico to Sucre and Monagas
  • Atlapetes semi rufus benedettii Phelps & Gilliard, 1941 - hood is sienafarben and brighter backwards. Back, rump and upper tail-coverts are yellow olive. Occurrence extends from the state of Falcón Lara up.
  • Atlapetes semi rufus albigula rooms & Phelps, 1946 - Differs from all other subspecies of white in the center of the throat and the white chin. Comes with Seboruco in the state of Táchira to the Maracaibo lake in front.

Naming

Auguste Boissonneau described this Buschammer initially Tanagra ( Arremon ) semi rufus. The word Atlapetes for the genus is composed of atla for the Titan Atlas, whose name means support sufferers and petes together from Greek petros for the rock. Atlas was in ancient mythology the heavens on his shoulders. The specific epithet comes from the Latin and is composed of the words semi ( = half ) and rufus ( = reddish) together.

Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee Walter Edmond Clyde Todd Carl Eduard Hellmayr Sucre (Venezuela) William Henry Phelps Ernest Thomas Gilliard Lara (Venezuela) John Todd Zimmer Atlas (mythology) William H. Phelps, Jr.
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