The band-tailed seedeater is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and heavily degraded former forest.
Region
Andes Mountains
Typical Environment
Occurs along the Andes from Colombia south through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia to northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. It favors high-altitude shrublands, puna grasslands with scattered bushes, rocky slopes, and Polylepis or other montane scrub. The species readily occupies disturbed areas, including road cuts, pastures, and fallow agricultural fields. It is most numerous in semi-arid to arid highland zones with patchy vegetation.
Altitude Range
1500–4500 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
The band-tailed seedeater is a high-Andean finch-like tanager recognized by its conspicuous pale band near the tip of the tail, most visible in flight. It thrives in open, scrubby habitats and frequently uses human-altered areas like field edges and roadsides. Outside the breeding season it often forages in small flocks with other seedeaters and sierra-finches.
Temperament
wary but active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with low, bounding flights between shrubs
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs during the breeding season, becoming more gregarious afterward and forming small flocks. Nests are cup-shaped and placed low in shrubs or dense vegetation. Both parents participate in provisioning the young.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Song is a light, tinkling series of twitters and trills delivered from a perch, often interspersed with short pauses. Calls are high, thin chips used to keep contact within loose flocks.
Plumage
Males are largely slaty gray with darker wings and tail showing a contrasting pale subterminal band; females are brownish with fine streaking and a more subdued but still visible tail band. Both sexes have a short, thick, conical bill typical of seed-eaters. Underparts of females tend to be buffy with streaking, while males are cleaner gray below.
Diet
Primarily consumes grass and herb seeds, gleaned from seedheads and from the ground. It also takes buds and small plant matter when seeds are scarce. In the breeding season it may occasionally add small invertebrates to feed nestlings.
Preferred Environment
Forages on open ground, along weedy field edges, and within low shrubs. Often feeds at the margins of agricultural plots, trails, and rocky slopes where seed resources are concentrated.
