Perija Brushfinch Arremon perijanus Scientific name definitions

Perija Brushfinch formerly was included in a broadly distributed species, Stripe-headed Brushfinch, which extended from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina. "Stripe-headed Brushfinch" now is partitioned into no fewer than eight (!) species, most of which have restricted geographic distributions. Perija Brushfinch fits this pattern, as it is entirely restricted to the Serranía de Perijá, along the border between Colombia and Venezuela. The natural history of Perija Brushfinch is very poorly known. Generally, however, its behavior is similar to that of related species: Perija Brushfinches are solitary or in pairs, and, while generally fairly common, they easily are overlooked as they forage quietly on the ground or in the undergrowth of humid forest and dense second growth.

Sierra de Perijá, on N Colombia–W Venezuela border.

No details of diet. Forages on ground, using bill to scratch at leaf litter. Solitary individuals or pairs have been observed foraging in understorey of secondary forest patches and at forest edge in Colombia (3 López-O., J. P., J. E. Avendaño, N. Gutiérrez-Pinto, and A. M. Cuervo (2014). The birds of the Serranía de Perijá: the northernmost avifauna of the Andes. Ornitología Colombiana 14:62–93. Close ).

Song is a very high-pitched, hummingbird-like song. It consists of a 3-note phrase "seeuw.. see.. teechew" constantly repeated. Duration of a phrase is about 2s. First note is loudest and drops in pitch.

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Colombian East Andes EBA. Very poorly known in life due to historical challenges with access to Sierra de Perijá on both sides of the frontier; difficulty of assessing of status compounded by taxonomic uncertainties (until recently treated as a subspecies of A. torquatus). Relatively small global range, within which much forest habitat has been lost. Tolerance of forest degradation is unknown. Population has not been estimated. Large number of 20^th century specimens from Venezuela suggest that it may not be rare; but very few recent records, despite several expeditions. In Colombia, recorded daily at 1300–1900 m above San Antonio, Cesar (3 López-O., J. P., J. E. Avendaño, N. Gutiérrez-Pinto, and A. M. Cuervo (2014). The birds of the Serranía de Perijá: the northernmost avifauna of the Andes. Ornitología Colombiana 14:62–93. Close ). Occurs within the Sierra de Perijá National Park (IUCN Cat. II; 2952 km²) in Venezuela, but management is lacking; Sierra de Perijá is one of the highest priority bioregions for the conservation of Venezuelan birds (4 Rodríguez, J. P., F. Rojas-Suárez, and C. J. Sharpe, C.J. (2004). Setting priorities for the conservation of Venezuela's threatened birds. Oryx 38(4):373–382. Close ). Given its small range and the rate at which forest is being lost on both sides of the frontier, this recently-split species is likely to be declining and has therefore been assessed as Vulnerable. Considered Vulnerable at the national level in Venezuela (5 Lentino, M. and Sharpe, C.J. (2015). Corbatico perijano, Arremon perijanus. In:. Close ).

Alvaro began birding as an 11 year old in Canada, and eventually trained in Evolutionary Ecology studying, creatures as varied as leaf-cutter ants and Argentine cowbirds. But his career has been focused on birding tourism, both as a guide and owner of his tour company, as well as a avitourism consultant to various organizations. He is the author of Birds of Chile, New World Blackbirds: The Icterids, as well as the ABA Field Guide to the birds of California. He lives in Half Moon Bay, California where he is known for his pelagic birding trips. Email: alvaro@alvarosadventures.com.