Blue - black Grassquit

Blue - black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) male

Blue - black Grassquit

Order : Passeriformes
Finches are seed eating Passerines mainly confined to the Northern Hemisphere, though some extend to South America. They are small to medium sized birds with a strong usually conical beak. Their flight is a bouncing alternate of flaps and glides on closed wings, and most sing well. There is some confusion over exactly which family the West Indian species belong, some Ornithologists placing them in the family Emberizidae.

Family : Finches (Fringillidae)
Also known as Passerine’s or pearching bird’s. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerine’s are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Name :Blue - black Grassquit (Volatinia jacarina)
Length 10 - 12 cm ( 4 - 4½ in )
Local Names : Blue-black seedeater, johnny jump-up

Similar to the Black-faced Grassquit, the Blue-black Grassquit is a bird of open countryside, scrub, grassland and garden. It is almost always seen near the ground where it feeds on grass seeds, or on a perch where it can be observed leaping into the air, spreading it’s wings and tail feathers in time to a musical call, before landing back onto it’s perch. This can be repeated for quite some time. The Male is a glossy blue-black all over, the female closer resembles the female Black-faced Grassquit, being a dull brown upperparts with pale brown underparts often streaked with black.

#Blue - black Grassquit #grassquits #Volatinia jacarina #Finches #Fringillidae #Passeriformes #seedeater #johnny jump-up #bird #birds of Tobago

Bird identification pictures

Black-faced Grassquit

Black-faced Grassquit (Tiaris bicolor) male

Black-faced Grassquit

Order : Passeriformes
Also known as Passerine’s or perching bird’s. Any member of the largest avian order which includes more than 5,700 species, more than half of all living birds. Passerine’s are true perching birds with four toed feet, three toes facing forward and one larger toe facing backwards.

Family : Finches (Fringillidae)
Finches are seed eating Passerines mainly confined to the Northern Hemisphere, though some extend to South America. They are small to medium sized birds with a strong usually conical beak. Their flight is a bouncing alternate of flaps and glides on closed wings, and most sing well. There is some confusion over exactly which family the West Indian species belong, some Ornithologists placing them in the family Emberizidae.

Name :Black-faced Grassquit (Tiaris bicolor)
Length : 11 - 12 cm ( 4½ in )
Local Names : Grass Sparrow, Tobacco Bird

Abundant and widely distributed throughout the West Indies, the Black-faced Grassquit is a species of open countryside, grassland, scrub and garden. It’s diet consisting almost extensively of grass or herb seed taken almost exclusively from the ground. The Male is green above with distinguishing black underparts, the female is greenish brown above and lacks any black underparts. The nest is globular with a side entrance, and is usually placed in a bush or tree.

#Black-faced Grassquit #Tiaris bicolor #Grass Sparrow #Tobacco Bird #Finches #Fringillidae #Passeriformes #Passerine #perching #bird #birds of Tobago

Bird identification pictures

Black-faced Grassquit female

Black-faced Grassquit female