About Lophospingus pusillus (Burmeister, 1860)
The adult black-crested finch (Lophospingus pusillus) reaches approximately 14 cm (5.5 in) in length. It has a yellowish-pink beak and a distinctive spiky black crest. Males have a black head and black throat, plus a broad white superciliary stripe, and their cheek areas are also white. The upper parts of the body, wings, and tail are grey, aside from white tips on the wing-coverts and large white areas at the tail corners that are particularly obvious when the bird is in flight. The underparts are largely pale grey. Females are a little more drab; they retain the crest but have less distinct head patterning, and their back and wings are tinged with brown. The black-crested finch is found across a large area of South America. Its natural range extends from southern Bolivia, through western Paraguay to northern Argentina. It usually occurs in open woodland and chaco scrubland, at altitudes up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft), and it has been introduced into Uruguay. Black-crested finches are generally seen in pairs or small groups. They forage on the ground and in undergrowth for seeds and small invertebrates. The cup-shaped nest is built by the male; it is made of lichens and vegetable fibres, bound together with spiders' webs, and lined with animal hairs and fine rootlets.
