Ringed Warbling Finch Microspingus torquatus Scientific name definitions

The Ringed Warbling Finch is a handsome bird of arid woodlands in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. It is gray above with a boldly black-and-white-striped face, white underparts, and a broad-black breast band. Its vent is rusty ochre, which almost comes as a surprise on such a strongly monochromatic bird. It is rather similar to the Collared Warbling Finch (Poospiza hispaniolensis) from coastal Ecuador and northern Peru; however, the two species are only distantly related.

During the breeding season, this warbling finch relies more on arthropod food than seeds, and is therefore not a breeding-season nomad, as is its relative, the Cinnamon Warbling Finch (Poospiza ornata). It is, at least partially migratory, as some of the Argentine population moves north in winter, and all Paraguayan records are of non-breeding birds. At least one molecular study found that the isolated Bolivian population was genetically distant from the Argentine population, suggesting that a cryptic species may be involved, although studies of biological differences are necessary before accepting this as a conclusion.