Coryphospingus pileatus (Wied-Neuwied 1821)

Coryphospingus pileatus (Wied)

The pileated finch (nominate subspecies) was first reported as a victim of the shiny cowbird in Minas Gerais, Brazil, by Skinner (1928:64) who recorded several sets of eggs taken by Goodall near Arcos, every one of which was parasitized with from 1 to 3 cowbird eggs apiece. Nothing further has been reported, but the degree to which the pileated finch is victimized could not be realized from Skinner's brief statement. However, the Delaware Museum of Natural History acquired Goodall's egg collection, and in it are no fewer than 8 parasitized sets of eggs, all taken near Arcos in 1922, 1923, and 1924. It follows that this species must indeed be one of the major supports of the shiny cowbird in southeastern Brazil, possibly as much so as the chingolo sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis.

CHINGOLO, OR RUFOUS-COLLARED SPARROW