Atlapetes

Atlapetes
Rufous-capped brushfinch, Atlapetes pileatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passerellidae
Genus: Atlapetes
Wagler, 1831
Type species
Atlapetes pileatus
Wagler, 1831
Species

see text

Atlapetes is a genus of birds in the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. The species are mainly found in montane forest from Mexico to northwestern Argentina.

Taxonomy and species

The genus Atlapetes was introduced in 1831 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler to accommodate the rufous-capped brushfinch (Atlapetes pileatus). The genus name is from Ancient Greek and combines the mythical figure Atlas with petēs, meaning "flyer". Within the New World sparrow family Passerellidae the genus Atlapetes is sister to the genus Pipilo.

The genus contains 33 species:

ImageCommon nameScientific nameDistribution
Rufous-capped brushfinchAtlapetes pileatusmontane Mexico
White-naped brushfinchAtlapetes albinuchahighlands of eastern Mexico to Colombia
Yellow-thighed brushfinchAtlapetes tibialisTalamancan montane forests
-Yellow-green brushfinchAtlapetes luteoviridismontane Panama
Moustached brushfinchAtlapetes albofrenatusCordillera Oriental (Colombia)
Santa Marta brushfinchAtlapetes melanocephalusSierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Ochre-breasted brushfinchAtlapetes semirufusmontane eastern Colombia end Venezuela
Yellow-headed brushfinchAtlapetes flavicepsMagdalena River valley
Dusky-headed brushfinchAtlapetes fuscoolivaceussouthwestern Colombia
-White-rimmed brushfinchAtlapetes leucopisAnde of southern Colombia and eastern Ecuador
White-headed brushfinchAtlapetes albicepssouthwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru
-Rufous-eared brushfinchAtlapetes rufigenisAndes of northwestern Peru
-Choco brushfinchAtlapetes crassuswestern slope of Andes of Colombia and Ecuador
-Tricolored brushfinchAtlapetes tricoloreastern Peruvian Andes
Slaty brushfinchAtlapetes schistaceusAndes of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador
Taczanowski's brushfinchAtlapetes taczanowskiiAnde of central Peru
Pale-naped brushfinchAtlapetes pallidinuchaAndes of Colombia and Ecuador
Antioquia brushfinchAtlapetes blancaeAntioquia
Yellow-breasted brushfinchAtlapetes latinuchusAndes of Colombia to northern Peru
-Black-fronted brushfinchAtlapetes nigrifronsSerranía del Perijá
White-winged brushfinchAtlapetes leucopterusEcuador and northern Peru
Pale-headed brushfinchAtlapetes pallidicepssouth-central Ecuador
-Bay-crowned brushfinchAtlapetes seebohmisouthwestern Ecuador and northern Peru
Rusty-bellied brushfinchAtlapetes nationisouthwestern Peru
-Apurimac brushfinchAtlapetes forbesiAndes of south-central Peru
-Black-spectacled brushfinchAtlapetes melanopsisAndes of southeastern Peru
-Vilcabamba brushfinchAtlapetes terborghiCordillera Vilcabamba
Cuzco brushfinchAtlapetes canigenisAndes of southeastern Peru
Grey-eared brushfinchAtlapetes melanolaemusAndes of southeastern Peru and Bolivia
-Bolivian brushfinchAtlapetes rufinuchaBolivian Andes
-Fulvous-headed brushfinchAtlapetes fulvicepsAndes of Bolivia and northwestern Argentina
Yellow-striped brushfinchAtlapetes citrinellusAndes of northwestern Argentina

References

  1. ↑ Sánchez-González, Luis A.; Navarro-Siguenza, Adolfo G. (2014). "Diversification in the Andes: the Atlapetes brush-finches". Zoologica Scripta. 44 (2): 135–152. doi:10.1111/zsc.12088.
  2. ↑ Wagler, Johann Georg (1831). "Einige Mittheilungen über Thiere Mexicos". Isis von Oken (in German and Latin). 1831. Col 510–535 [526].
  3. ↑ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 190.
  4. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  5. ↑ Bryson, R.W.; Faircloth, B.C.; Tsai, W.L.E.; McCormack, J.E.; Klicka, J. (2016). "Target enrichment of thousands of ultraconserved elements sheds new light on early relationships within New World sparrows (Aves: Passerellidae)". The Auk. 133 (3): 451–458. doi:10.1642/AUK-16-26.1.
  6. ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.