Black-eared Hemispingus (Sphenopsis melanotis)

Other Names (World)
Black-eared Hemispingus, Black-eared Tanager

Family
Thraupidae (Tanagers)

Size
14 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Sclater, 1855)

Habitat
Subtropical and tropical moist montane forest. From 1,700 - 2,500 m, occasionally 1,200 - 3,050 m.

Range (Guide)

Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Voice
Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (15)...)

Black-eared Hemispingus (Sphenopsis melanotis) [XC276078]
by GABRIEL LEITE from Napo: 'Caba\u00f1as San Isidro', 1-2 km SW Cosanga, Ecuador (call, calls)

Black-eared Hemispingus (Sphenopsis) [XC528497]
by id from San Antonio Del Tequendama, Cundinamarca, Colombia (song)

Subspecies
Genus has been thought to belong with New World warblers (Parulidae), but recent molecular-genetic data support placement in present family. Monophyly of genus questioned, supported by some molecular data, but other molecular data equivocal. Along with, Piura Hemispingus (Sphenopsis piurae) and Hemispingus ochraceus usually treated as conspecific, but differ from one another markedly in plumage and habitat and all tentatively given full species rank. A review is warranted.

The following 6 subspecies are recognised:

melanotis (Sclater, 1855) - Andes of western Venezuela (southern T�chira) southern on western slope of eastern Andes of Colombia (Santander and south-eastern Boyac� south to head of Magdalena Valley, in Huila), also western Andes (eastern slope near Jard��n, in Antioquia) and central Andes (Antioquia south to eastern slope in Nari�o) of Colombia (probably also eastern slope of eastern Andes); also, eastern slope in Ecuador south to Tungurahua (Ba�os and Ambato) and in south-eastern (Podocarpus National Park).
berlepschi (Taczanowski, 1880) - Eastern slope of Andes in Peru from Amazonas south to northern Cuzco.
castaneicollis (Sclater, PL, 1858) - Eastern slope in south-eastern Peru (from Puno) south to central Bolivia (western Santa Cruz).
ochracea (von Berlepsch & Taczanowski, 1884) - Western slope of Andes of south-western Colombia (Nari�o) and western Ecuador. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Western Hemispingus (Sphenopsis ochracea).
piurae Chapman, 1923 - Extreme southern Ecuador (southern Loja) and immediately adjacent Peru (northern end of both slopes of western Andes in Piura and Cajamarca). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Piura Hemispingus (Sphenopsis piurae).
macrophrys Koepcke, 1961 - La Libertad (upper R Chicama valley, on western slope of Andes), in north-western Peru. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Piura Hemispingus (Sphenopsis piurae).

References
See References.

Files:

JPG files for Black-eared Hemispingus (Sphenopsis melanotis) - 10 files

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