Rufous-collared Sparrow
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0

New World Sparrows

Rufous-collared Sparrow

Zonotrichia capensis

LCLeast Concern
Family
New World Sparrows (Passerellidae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It has diverse vocalizations, which have been intensely studied since the 1970s, particularly by Paul Handford and Stephen C. Lougheed (UWO), Fernando Nottebohm (Rockefeller University) and Pablo Luis Tubaro (UBA). Local names for this bird include the Portuguese tico-tico and mariquinha, the Aymara Pichitanka the Spanish copetón ("tufted") in Colombia, as well as chingolo and chincol, comemaíz "corn eater" in Costa Rica, chincol in Chile and Cigua de Constanza in the Dominican Republic.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.