Pinzón de montaña de Cochabamba

Named for the Bolivian city adjacent to the mountain slopes that comprise its stronghold, the rare and beautiful Cochabamba Mountain Finch is actually more closely related to a tanager than to a finch. This sparrow-sized bird is a member of the Poospiza genus (warbling finches/mountain finches) and is distinguished by its distinct plumage and highly limited range around the city of Cochabamba in Bolivia.

Many geographically restricted species throughout South America are named after “their” places in this way. Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated mountain range along the Caribbean coast, holds a wide range of endemic species named for that area, including the Ala de sable de Santa Marta, Santa Marta Parakeet, y Santa Marta Bush-Tyrant.

ABC’s partner Asociación Armonía and local Indigenous communities have worked in the Cochabamba area for many years to restore habitat for the Cochabamba Mountain Finch and a community of other endemic songbirds found there, including the Bolivian Blackbird, Brown-capped Whitestart, Rufous-bellied Mountain Tanager, and Grey-bellied Flowerpiercer.

Birds around the world are declining, and many of them are facing urgent, acute threats. But all birds, from range-restricted species like the Cochabamba Mountain Finch to familiar backyard birds such as the American Robin, are made more vulnerable by the cumulative impacts of threats like habitat loss and pesticides.

Las aves necesitan nuestra ayuda para superar las amenazas que enfrentan. En ABC, nos inspira la belleza de las aves y nos impulsa nuestra responsabilidad de encontrar soluciones para sus mayores desafíos. Con la ciencia como base, y con la inclusión y la colaboración como pilares fundamentales de todo lo que hacemos, tomamos medidas decisivas en favor de las aves en todo el continente americano.

The Cochabamba Mountain Finch is a stocky, long-tailed sparrow or finch-like bird with a relatively small bill. It is an eye-catching mix of colors, with a dark gray head, upperparts, and tail setting off vivid rufous-orange undersides and facial markings. Its eyes are a deep brown, and the bill is blackish with a paler lower mandible. The sexes look alike. Juveniles are grayish-brown above, with buffy, dusky-streaked undersides.

The male Cochabamba Mountain Finch sings two types of song. The first, given near the nest while his mate is building, is a series of three to five warbled whistles, increasing slightly in pitch: tzeet twooo–swee…tzeet twoo–swee.

A second, less common song type is a variable series of whistles with a buzzy note; this song usually elicits an aggressive response from a nesting pair.

Both sexes give a soft, high-pitched sweep llamar.

Endemic to Bolivia, the Cochabamba Mountain Finch is considered a mixed forest dweller, rather than a Polylepis specialist, as was once believed.

This species inhabits inter-Andean valleys near the treeline, usually at altitudes between 9,800 and 12,500 feet. It favors dense, brushy ravines and slopes; mixed mosaics of agricultural and forested lands that contain thorny native shrub and hedgerows; and open valleys with scattered native Polylepis and alder trees.

• Intermountain valleys with scattered native trees and brush
• Mixed agricultural/forest habitat with native vegetation and hedgerows

The Cochabamba Mountain Finch uses a variety of native shrubs, often those associated with Polylepis woodlands, for foraging and nesting. Pairs can nest successfully in human-modified habitats as long as some native vegetation and woodland edges remain.