Family Tanagers (Thraupidae)
Least Concern
Long-tailed Reed-finch (Donacospiza albifrons)
Taxonomy
French: Donacospize des marais German: Riedfinkentangare Spanish: Cachilo canela
Taxonomy:
Sylvia albifrons
Vieillot
, 1817,Paraguay
.Distribution:
Bolivia (Beni); SE Paraguay and SE Brazil (S from S Paraná, S São Paulo, S Minas Gerais and W Rio de Janeiro) S to NE Argentina (Misiones, Corrientes, E Formosa and E Chaco S to E Córdoba and NE Buenos Aires) and Uruguay.
Descriptive notes
15 cm; 14–16·5 g. A small and slim finch with long tail, short and rounded wings, and relatively small and well-pointed bill; tail feathers pointed (and often... read more
Voice
Song a pleasant series of two or three elements repeated, e.g. “twee-cha twee-cha twee-cha... read more
Habitat
Marshes and reedbeds with tall emergent vegetation (Typha, Eryngium, Scirpus... read more
Food and feeding
Primarily insects; will also take seeds. Forages by probing in emergent vegetation. Sometimes follows army ants (Formicidae). In pairs and... read more
Breeding
Season Oct–Feb; juveniles seen in Jul in Bolivia. Performs short song flight, flying directly upwards a few metres, before gliding down to... read more
Movements
Sedentary.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Common where its tall-grass marsh habitat exists. Main threat is the draining of wetlands.
Monotypic.