Yellow-breasted Brushfinch Atlapetes latinuchus Scientific name definitions

The Yellow-breasted Brushfinch is found in the Andes from the border of Venezuela and Colombia south to central Peru. Like many other brushfinches it is entirely yellow below, from throat to undertail coverts. In common with many other brushfinches, Yellow-breasted Brushfinch also has a rusty crown stripe and blackish sides of the face. It is quite geographically variable, however, with some forms showing greener backs and others grayish to nearly blackish backs. Some populations also have a noticeable white patch at the base of the primaries while others do not. There is some complicated taxonomy here, as this brushfinch was traditionally lumped with the Bolivian Brushfinch (A. rufinucha), but molecular work has shown that these two are not even each other’s closest relatives. It has been suggested that Yellow-breasted Brushfinch has a complicated relationship with other species, including the Slaty Brushfinch (A. schistaceus), where yellow underpart coloration is lost or gained in a leapfrog pattern such that populations that may not look alike may in fact be closely related to each other. The subspecies nigrifrons ('Black-fronted Brushfinch') is perhaps not closely related to other subspecies of Yellow-breasted Brushfinch, based on voice and molecular studies. Future treatments may consider this taxon a valid species.