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 Santa Marta Sabrewing, Santa Marta Parakeet, and 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.
Learn more about the Cochabamba Mountain Finch: https://abcbirds.org/bird/cochabamba-mountain-finch/
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