Expansion of the distribution of the Nicaraguan Seed-Finch Sporophila nuttingi (Ridgway) (Passeriformes: Thraupidae) for Honduras

Abstract

During an ornithological survey carried out in the cultural zone of the Río Plátano Man and Biosphere Reserve, Gracias a Dios, Honduras, especially in the Miskito indigenous territory of BAKINASTA (Wampusirpi) in the Patuca River basin, we detected for the first time in Honduras the presence of the Nicaraguan Seed-Finch Sporophila nuttingi (Ridgway). A male and a female were observed and photographed. The species had previously only been reported in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and northwest Panama. Approximately one year later, several individuals (males and females) were found in the department of Izabal, Guatemala, and the department of Cortés, Honduras (data available online on the eBird platform). With these data, the known distribution of this species considered endemic to the humid forests of the Atlantic slope of Central America has expanded to the north and west.