Great-billed Seed-Finch Sporophila maximiliani Scientific name definitions

This seed-finch is has a disjunct distribution with populations in N Venezuela, and Trinidad as well as in the region bordering the mouth of the Amazon River, and finally in East-Central Brazil. This seed-finch has an enormous bill, such that it looks to engulf the entire head, leaving no room for a forehead and therefore appearing as if the base of the culmen comes out of the crown! The bill is also wide, and clearly designed for cracking thick or hard foods, but what that is exactly still needs to be determined. The bill of this seed-finch is ivory-white, although the texture of the bill is not smooth and often looks to have fissures or ridges on it. The males are entirely black, save for the white primary bases (the white ‘handkerchief”) as well as white wing linings, although these are not visible while the bird is perched. The males perform a wing raise display to show the hidden white under wings to the female during the breeding season. The female is entirely warm brown in coloration, lacking obvious features other than the big bill. Males give a rapid and beautiful flute-like song.

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Singing in Aug in NE Venezuela. Male performs aerial display, with song; also a wing-raising display to show normally hidden white underwing to female during presumed breeding season. Nests found in Mato Grosso state, Brazil in Dec and Jan (1 Medolago, C.A., Ubaid, F.K., Francisco, M.R. and Silveira, L.F. (2016). Description of the nest and eggs of the Great-billed Seed-Finch (Sporophila maximiliani). Wilson J. Orn.. 128(3): 638–642. Close ). Nests cup-shaped made mainly of stems and tendrils of vines. Built in 5 days by female, escorted by male. Clutch 2 eggs, grayish-white, variably spotted light brown with a few black blotches. Incubation by female (1 Medolago, C.A., Ubaid, F.K., Francisco, M.R. and Silveira, L.F. (2016). Description of the nest and eggs of the Great-billed Seed-Finch (Sporophila maximiliani). Wilson J. Orn.. 128(3): 638–642. Close ). No further information.

ENDANGERED. Now almost universally rare, and local, with few recent records from any part of its range, except perhaps Bolivia. Less than a handful of records from Venezuela in recent years, although possibly not uncommon in the more remote parts of Delta Amacuro in NE Venezuela (2 Hilty, S. L. (2003). Birds of Venezuela. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Apparently no recent records from the Guianas. Extremely rare in Brazil (where a significant captive population exists); only two birds were found amongst IBAMA seizures between 1992 and 2011 in the state of Amazonas (3 Nascimento, C.A.R., Czaban, R.E. and Alves, R.R.N. (2015). Trends in illegal trade of wild birds in Amazonas state, Brazil. Tropical Conservation Science 8(4): 1098–1113. Close ). Status in Bolivia unclear, with doubt over the identity of some records (4 Lane, D. F. (2014). New and noteworthy records of birds in Bolivia. Cotinga 36:56–67. Close ); at best rare to uncommon and local (5 Herzog, S. K., R. S. Terrill, A. E. Jahn, J. V. Remsen, O. Maillard Z., V. H. García-Solíz, R. MacLeod, A. Maccormick, and J. Q. Vidoz (2016). Birds of Bolivia: Field Guide. Asociación Armonía, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. Close ). Has suffered moderate to severe population decline largely as a result of trapping for the cagebird trade. Widely coveted by cagebird-fanciers because of its singing ability; numbers seriously depleted by trapping, but effect may be patchy and local. Nevertheless, trapping is now thought to be causing a rapid population decline and it was therefore uplisted from Near Threatened to Vulnerable in 2013 BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Oryzoborus maximiliani. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/09/2014. , and to Endangered in 2017 BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Sporophila maximiliani. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 08/01/2018. . Considered Critically Endangered at the national level in Brazil (6 Silveira, L. F., and F. C. Straube (2008). Aves. Pp. 378–679 in:. Close , 7 MMA (2014). Lista Nacional Oficial de Espécies da Fauna Ameaçadas de Extinção. Portaria No 444, de 17 de dezembro de 2014. Diário Oficial da União - Seção 1. Nº 245, quinta-feira, 18 de dezembro de 2014. Close ), the country which accounts for the majority of its range. In Venezuela, most recent (2008) Red Data Book assesses it as nationally Near Threatened (8 Sharpe, C. J. (2008). Aves. In Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana. Terca edición (J. P. Rodríguez and F. Rojas-Suárez, Editors). Provita and Shell Venezuela, S. A., Caracas, Venezuela. pp. 122–157. Close ). Occurs in Emas National Park (Goiás) in Brazil, where it may be close to extinction (9 Kirwan, G. M., A. Whittaker, and K. J. Zimmer (2015). Interesting bird records from the Araguaia River Valley, central Brazil, with comments on conservation, distribution and taxonomy. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 135(1):21–60. Close ), and within Turuépano and Mariusa National Parks in Venezuela. It is vital to control further trapping of wild birds throughout its range; once this is achieved, reintroduction programmes may be a viable way to increase populations.

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.