Paria Brushfinch Arremon phygas Scientific name definitions

Paria 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. Paria Brushfinch fits this pattern, as it is entirely restricted to the coastal mountain ranges of northeastern Venezuela (including the Paria Peninsula). The natural history of Paria Brushfinch is very poorly known. Generally, however, its behavior is similar to that of related species: Paria 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.

19 cm. A stocky brush-finch looking relatively large-headed, with longish bill. Has cap and face black, vestigial trace of grey median crownstripe, and whitish rear supercilium that begins behind eye; neck side grey, this colour reaching down to side of breast; black ends discretely below cheek and ear-coverts, contrasting strongly with white throat; upperparts , including wings and tail, olive-green (looking more grass-green in good light); white throat separated from white underparts by black breastband, with side of breast and flanks grey, flanks with greenish tinge; iris deep chestnut-brown; bill black; legs blackish. Sexes alike. Juvenile is dusky olive above, darker on head, with indistinct pale olive supercilium, greyish-cinnamon with darker streaking below, slightly whiter throat, greyish lower mandible.

Mountains of N Anzoátegui, Sucre and N Monagas, in NE Venezuela.

Undergrowth inside humid montane forest, sometimes near edges and borders; 920–1500 m.

No details of diet. Forages on ground , scratching at leaf litter with its bill. Singly and in pairs.

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Caripe-Paria Region EBA. Status little known. Until recently treated as a race of A. torquatus. Known only from a small number of localities in Turimiquire Massif and Paria Peninsula in extreme NE Venezuela. Uncommon to rare, and possibly very local. Records come from Quebrada Bonita and Cerro Peonía in Serranía de Turimiquire, Cerro Negro in Cordillera de Caripe, and Cerro Humo in Paria Peninsula (3 Phelps, W. H., and W. H. Phelps, Jr. (1950). Lista de las Aves de Venezuela con su Distribución. Parte 2. Passeriformes. Boletín de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales 12(75):1–427. Close ). Most surviving forest in Turimiquire Massif is badly degraded, despite official protection in Cueva del Guácharo National Park (IUCN Cat. II; 627 km²); largest remaining forest block (Piedra 'e Mole', in Serranía de Turimiquire) measures c. 80 km² (4 Azpúrua, J.C., Hernández, L.L., Miranda, J.E. and Pérez-Emán, J.L. (2013). Status of the Grey-headed Warbler (Basileuterus griseiceps, Parulidae), an endemic and threatened species from north-eastern Venezuela. Orn. Neotropical. 24(4): 445–457. Close ). Cerro Humo is partially protected within Paria Peninsula National Park (IUCN Cat. II; 375 km²), but this park has historically lacked significant management or legal enforcement; there are only two or three park guards, no vehicles or boats, a minimal budget and scant political support (5 Sharpe, C.J. (2001). Situación Ambiental del Parque Nacional Península de Paria. Fundación Tierra Viva, Caracas. Close , 6 Castillo, R. and Salas, V. (2005). Estado de conservación del Parque Nacional Península de Paria. BioParques, Caracas, Venezuela. Close ). Deforestation on the Paria Peninsula has been severe, even within the park itself. The population is undoubtedly contracting in response to forest loss, but rates are not available. This species is certainly threatened, with a conservation status similar to the other Parian Montane Centre endemics with which it shares its range: Premnoplex tatei , Grallaricula cumanensis and Diglossa venezuelensis . Given its small and increasingly fragmented range, this recently-split species is likely to be declining and has therefore been assessed as Vulnerable. Depending upon its tolerance of secondary and degraded forest, it may prove to be Endangered. Considered Vulnerable at the national level in Venezuela (7 Lentino, M. and Sharpe, C.J. (2015). Corbatico de Paria, Arremon phygas. 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.