Sporophila palustris
This seedeater is one of three or four endangered birds found in this area. Their habitat is wet grasslands and marshy areas and it is therefore well suited to the Esteros.
We occasionally see them around the reserve, usually in the winter, although they disappeared after our fire in 2012. In 2015 a Marsh Seedeater was spotted in the south of the reserve.
The female looks like most of the other female Sporophilas but the male is quite distinctive with his chestnut coloured belly, white throat upper chest and lower face and grey cap, nape and back.
This seedeater exists in a small fragmented range and thus qualifies as EN (endangered) in the IUCN redlist.
Other endangered seedeaters found here are the Sporophila cinnemomea and S. hypochroma. We have seen several Sporophila ruficollis (Dark-throated Seedeater) which are classed as NT on the IUCN redlist; adults as well as juveniles so they probably breed here.
Threats are the usual habitat loss as well as pesticides and some trapping for the bird trade.
This bird has now been moved from Emberizidae family to that of Thraupidae
