Tricolored Brushfinch Atlapetes tricolor Scientific name definitions

No more tricolored than various other members of the genus, this one ended up with the name. In fact, with yellow underparts, black on the face face and sides of the head, a tawny crown stripe, and an olive back, why the vernacular name has persisted remains a mystery. In general color and pattern the Tricolored Brushfinch resembles both the Pale-naped and Yellow-breasted brushfinches; however, the Tricolored has an entirely tawny to yellow, not rufous, crown stripe which does not turn whitish on the nape. Tricolored Brushfinch is found in the Andes from Colombia to northern Peru. It is typically a species of forest edge, dense understory, and thickets with forest openings, overgrown pastures, and roadsides, between 700 and 3,000 m in elevation. Widespread, but not usually common, it is most often found in pairs or family groups, seeming to shun the company of mixed species foraging flocks except on occasions when they pass through their territories. Little is known about its biology, especially how various sympatric brushfinches in this area of the Andes divide up habitats or minimize competition with each other.