# Black-faced Grassquit

Scientific name: Melanospiza bicolor

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

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/294/Black-faced-Grassquit

## Identification

The black-faced grassquit (Melanospiza bicolor) is a small bird. It is recognized as a tanager closely related to Darwin's finches. It breeds in the West Indies except Cuba, on Tobago but not Trinidad, and along the northern coasts of Colombia and Venezuela.
A male black-faced grassquits is around 10 cm (3.9 in) long and weighs approximately 10 g (0.35 oz). It has a short conical black bill, a black head and breast with an olive green back. Females and immature birds have dull olive-grey upperparts and head, and paler grey underparts becoming whiter on the belly.


## Distribution and habitat

The Black-faced Grassquit occurs from northern South 
America through the West 
Indies, where it is a common 
resident species in Puerto Rico 
(Oberle 2018, Raffaele and others 
1998), Culebra (Ventosa-Febles 
and others 2005), and Vieques 
(Gemmill 2015). This species 
is common in urban areas and 
open areas with grasses and 
shrubs including gardens, road 
edges, and forest clearings 
(Oberle 2018, Raffaele and 
others 1998). The atlas fieldwork 
yielded a total of 861 records 
within 400 hexagons or 84 percent of the 479 total hexagons 
(see map). Of the 400 hexagons 
where this species was found, 
breeding met the atlas definition 
of confirmed in 20 percent (78) 
of the hexagons, probable in 
50 percent (199), and possible in 
31 percent (123) (see map). Black-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.

## Breeding

Previously published reports indicate that the Black-faced 
Grassquit breeds year-round 
(Raffaele and others 1998). Atlas 
results show that the breeding 
season for this species extends 
throughout the year, but it is 
most active from March through       285Black-faced Grassquit/Gorrión NegroJune, with a peak in May (see chart). Results show that the 
Black-faced Grassquit breeds 
in all ecological life zones but 
mostly within the subtropical 
moist, subtropical dry, and 
subtropical wet forest life zones 
(59, 21, and 20 percent of the 
hexagons, respectively), while 
breeding activity has also been 
reported for one hexagon in the 
subtropical rain forest life zone 
(see table and map).

## Conservation

The population of the Black-faced Grassquit is 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 used by PRDNER 
and USFWS. In Puerto Rico, 
the Black-faced Grassquit has 
a protected habitat in land 
of 12 percent or 1102 km2 of the total area covered by the 
hexagons where evidence of 
breeding was found for this 
species (9565 km2). Note this area is larger than the total 
terrestrial area of the island 
because coastal hexagons and 
those hexagons covering small 
cays include a portion of water.

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_294_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_294_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.