The slaty finch is a bird species in the family Thraupidae.
Region
Central America and the Northern Andes
Typical Environment
Found from the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama through the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, with scattered records in adjacent regions. It favors dense montane forest understory, especially extensive stands of Chusquea bamboo. The species is often most conspicuous following bamboo mass flowering and seeding, when it may form small flocks. It uses forest edges, clearings, and second growth near mature cloud forest.
Altitude Range
900–2800 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The slaty finch is a bamboo-associated tanager that often appears in numbers during mass seeding events of Chusquea bamboo. Males are uniformly slaty-gray, while females are brownish with buffy underparts, making the species notably dimorphic. It is nomadic within montane regions, tracking bamboo seed availability, which leads to unpredictable local abundances. Despite these fluctuations, it is currently assessed as of least concern overall.
Temperament
shy and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Often in small, loose flocks or pairs within dense bamboo, becoming more gregarious during bamboo seeding events. Generally elusive, keeping low and moving quietly through thickets. Nests are placed low in dense vegetation; breeding activity is frequently synchronized with bamboo masting.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a thin, high, tinkling series of notes delivered from within cover. Calls include sharp, sibilant tsee or tssip notes that can be hard to localize. Vocalizations are soft and easily overlooked amid forest background noise.
Plumage
Male is uniformly slaty to dark gray with no wing bars; female is warm brown above with buffy to pale underparts, often slightly washed or faintly streaked. Plumage is smooth and unpatterned in males, more subdued and cryptic in females. Both sexes show a stout finch-like bill.
Diet
Primarily consumes seeds, especially those of Chusquea bamboo during seeding events. Outside of seed peaks, it takes a variety of small seeds and supplements with small insects and other arthropods. Foraging is methodical and low, often on or near the ground and within dense culms.
Preferred Environment
Feeds inside dense bamboo stands, along forest edges, and in shrubby clearings adjacent to cloud forest. Frequently forages in the shaded understory where bamboo seed is abundant.
