White Winged Brush Finch

Copyright: monacoeye • All rights reserved • Ecoruta, Ecuador, March 2011

Bird name: White Winged Brush Finch
Latin: Atlapetes leucopterus
Other: Matorralero aliblanco (Es)
Family: Emberizidae • Brush Finches
Range: Ecuador, Peru
Similar: Pale-naped Brush Finch, Tricolored Brush Finch

I saw the White-winged Brush Finch on a couple of occasions, both in the same general region northwest of Quito, once on the Ecoruta and once at Angel Paz’s reserve. Both times there was a Crimson-mantled Woodpecker nearby. Ridgely places White-winged Brush Finch at between 1600 and 2600m on the western slope in Ecuador.

The White-winged Brush Finch has whitish underparts, grey upperparts with prominent white wing bar, dark head, rufous head stripe and dark malar stripe, though there are various subspecies, some much whiter, especially in the south.

Below, White-winged Brush Finch, Ecoruta, March, 2011.


Below, White-winged Brush Finch in cloud, Paz de las Aves, March, 2011.


Below, White-winged Brush Finch, Paz de las Aves, March, 2011.