Ringed Warbling Finch (Microspingus torquatus) [XC506240]
by Niels Krabbe from La Rioja: RP 25 (6), Argentina (song)
Ringed Warbling Finch (Microspingus torquatus) [XC471419]
by Rolf A. de By from Cotacajes, Ayopaya, Cochabamba Department, Bolivia (flight call, song)
Subspecies
New molecular data indicate that genus forms a clade with the tanager (Thraupidae) genera Hemispingus and Thlypopsis, and that Compsospiza, which often subsumed within this genus, is sister to that clade. A recent molecular-genetic study indicated that present species belonged to a clade that included also Plain-tailed Warbling-Finch (Microspingus alticola), Rusty-browed Warbling-Finch (Microspingus erythrophrys) and Black-capped Warbling-Finch (Microspingus melanoleucus), and was rather distantly related to very similar-looking Collared Warbling-Finch (Poospiza hispaniolensis). More work is needed to confirm that plumage similarity to Collared Warbling-Finch (Poospiza hispaniolensis) is due to convergence. Of particular interest is that cytochrome b sequences of the two subspecies of present species differed by as much as 4.4% (equivalent to that of undisputed species included in the study). This suggests that pectoralis may be a cryptic species, although further comparative data on song, behaviour and plumage differences is necessary before treatment as separate species can be considered.
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
torquata (d'Orbigny and Lafresnaye, 1837) - Central Bolivia (highlands of La Paz, Cochabamba, western Santa Cruz and northern Chuquisaca).
pectoralis Todd, 1922 - Breeds northern and central Argentina from eastern Salta, Jujuy and Formosa south to Mendoza, La Pampa, north-eastern Rio Negro and western Buenos Aires. Non-breeding also north to south-eastern Bolivia (Tarija) and western Paraguay (Alto Chaco region). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Black-breasted Warbling-Finch (Microspingus pectoralis).
BirdLife International Species Factsheet