Black-striped Sparrow (Arremonops conirostris )
23 January 2009, Rancho Naturalista, Costa Rica
This species was common around the lodge, but liked to hide in dense brush.
It looks much like the Olive Sparrow (A. rufivirgatus) which ranges north
to Southern Texas but the Black-striped Sparrow is darker gray with blacker
head stripes and has a very different song. It was formerly lumped with the
very similar Green-backed Sparrow (A. chloronotus) but they overlap in
Honduras without hybridization.
This photo was taken in the rain under miserable lighting conditions. The
bird briefly came out in the open, attracted to rice placed around one of
the birdbaths.
Panasonic Lumix LZ5 / Nikon Fieldscope 3 / 30X WA / hand-held (no adapter)