# Yellow-faced Grassquit

Scientific name: Tiaris olivaceus

Bird group: [tanager](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/tanager)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/292/Yellow-faced-Grassquit

## Identification

The yellow-faced grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus) is a passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae and is the only member of the genus Tiaris. It is native to the Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
It is a small bird with a conical bill, sharper than that of the related seedeaters. It is 10–10.7 cm (3.9–4.2 in) long and weighs about 8–10 g (0.28–0.35 oz), depending on subspecies. The adult male has an olive-green back, and its face and breast are black apart from a bright yellow throat, supercilia, and lower eyelid spot. The rest of the underparts are greyish olive. The beak and eyes are dark, the legs are grey.[11][12][13]


## Distribution and habitat

The Yellow-faced Grassquit occurs from Mexico to 
northwestern South America, 
and it is a common resident 
throughout the Greater Antilles 
and the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean (Raffaele and 
others 1998). In Puerto Rico, it 
is found throughout the main 
island but occurs mostly in the 
municipalities of Humacao and 
Fajardo at the eastern region 
(Biaggi 1997). It also occurs 
sporadically in El Yunque 
National Forest and near El 
Verde field station along grassy 
roadsides (Recher and Recher 
1966). In addition, it has also 
been reported from Culebra 
(Bond 1961, Wetmore 1917) 
and Vieques islands (Bond 
1961, Saliva 1994, Sorrié 1975, 
Wetmore 1916), in the latter 
being an uncommon resident 
(Gemmill 2015). The species usually inhabits open grassy 
areas from the lowlands into 
the high mountains (Raffaele 
and others 1998), as well as 
marshy areas, open brushy 
fields, and roadsides with tall 
grasses (Oberle 2018). The atlas 
fieldwork yielded a total of 532 
records within 316 hexagons 
or 66 percent of the 479 total 
hexagons (see map). Of the 316 
hexagons where this species 
was found, breeding met the 
atlas definition of confirmed in 
10 percent (33) of the hexagons, 
probable in 40 percent (125), 
and possible in 50 percent (158) 
(see map). Yellow-faced Grassquit distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones 
in Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.       283Yellow-faced Grassquit/Gorrión Barba Amarilla

## Breeding

Previously published reports indicate that the Yellow-faced 
Grassquit breeds throughout the 
year (Raffaele and others 1998) 
but primarily during February, 
March, and April (Biaggi 1997). 
The nests are dome-shaped 
structures made mostly of fine 
grasses and are built just off the 
ground in grass clumps (Raffaele 
and others 1998). Atlas results 
show that this species breeding 
season extends throughout the 
year with the most breeding 
activity from March to June (see chart). The breeding activity 
peaks in May at the onset of 
the rainy season, and it mostly 
occurs in the subtropical moist 
forest life zone (see chart). 
Results show that this species 
breeds mostly within the 
subtropical moist forest life zone 
(62 percent of the hexagons) 
and less frequently at higher 
elevations within the subtropical 
wet forest life zones (20 percent 
of the hexagons) and in the 
subtropical dry forest life zone 
(17 percent of the hexagons) 
(see table and map).

## Conservation

The Yellow-faced Grassquit is currently listed as a species 
of least concern by the IUCN 
(BirdLife International 2018). 
Locally, this species is not 
listed in any of the threatened 
categories of PRDNER and 
USFWS. In Puerto Rico, it has a 
protected habitat in land of 12 
percent or 928 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons 
where evidence of breeding 
was found for this species 
(7557 km2).

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_292_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_292_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.