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A Little Bird with a Big Voice: The White-Eared Seed-Eater

by Biol. Oscar S. Aranda Mena |

A Vallarta Canary
The Spanish name is: Semillero Collarejo; also known as collarejito or Semillerito (Sporophila torqueola), the White-Eared Seed-Eater inhabits temperate and tropical areas from northern Mexico to Panama and prefers open fields with weeds, shrubs and bushes where they can nest; although in general, it is an abundant little bird that is easy to observe in our region.
This 10cm long bird is characterized by a short, thick beak that is useful to extract small seeds from vegetation. It is sexually dimorphic, i.e. the male and female have different plumage. Its name describes the male's plumage, which has a full white collar or half-full black collar on the top of his neck, with a pale yellow belly. The female has more subdued plumage, varying in shades of brown and yellow.

A Privileged Song
It has a beautiful and powerful song, and unlike other species, the females also sing, though her song is not as complex as the male. Her song enables her to communicate with her partner and other Seed-Eaters in the distance. The males may sing for several minutes continuously, modulating the sound beautifully.
To recognize them, it is very useful to compare its voice with that of the Canary, because it sounds quite similar, but these birds are not related. The song of the Seed-Eater is a sweet and sonorous chant that begins with several repeated high notes, dropping several notes in a more serious tone, which sounds like a "sweet sweet sweet sweet, chio chio chio chio". They also have other songs and variations, depending on their mood and whether or not they are in breeding season when they make repeated sounds like several "cheep, cheep, cheep or modulations of that sound like a "chee-wee, chee-wee", etc.

Exemplary Parents as well as Artists
There is a quiet period where we do not hear the Seed-Eater's voice; usually between December and March. Entering the spring, these monogamous birds begin to build nests; about the size and shape of a cup of coffee, very thin and well hidden amongst dense vegetation, constructed with natural fibers and thin roots, but also constructed with plastic or artificial fibers "stolen" from urban areas. After finishing the nest, she lays 2 or 3 small eggs with brownish spots, which, after 13 days of incubation, produce 2 or 3 naked chicks that need to be fed almost continuously.
Little is known about their reproduction because of their excellent talent for hiding their nests. Both the female and male have been found to be involved in the care and feeding of the small chicks, which grow so fast that within days they are forced out of the nest due to lack of space. That's when they are most at risk, because in their eagerness to get out, they usually fall to the ground, where they fall prey to many predators such as cats. However, their parents look after and feed them until they can fly and find their own food.

A paradise for the Seed-Eater
It is interesting to note that this species has been captured intensely for decades in much of the country for sale as ornamental birds and their presence in cities tends to be extremely rare. As birds that prefer rural or areas minimally affected by urban growth, so why are they so common in our city? We do not know, but perhaps it is because in this region they are not usually captured, which allows them to live freely and breed.
As a result of our indifference toward them, the benevolent conditions in the region have enabled them to find enough food to stay permanently and delight us with their song. While not as common in the south of the city, the north is a good place to observe them. With a little luck you may hear them perched on a tree outside your home and with patience they can be watched; a challenge well worth it.

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