While patrolling a “thorny forest” in the arid region of northwestern Paraguay, park rangers stumbled upon a visitor never before seen in the country taking a mid-morning bath.
There, at the edge of a pond, was a Poospiza ornata, also known as a cinnamon warbling-finch, named for its spice-colored throat and stripes above its eyes resembling eyebrows, according to a study published March 12 in the journal Check List.
The finch, typically found in Argentina from the Monte desert to the Andean foothills, was about 215 miles outside its known range, according to the study.
Researchers said the finch migrates short distances seasonally within Argentina and was once seen in Uruguay, but this sighting marked the first time it was recorded in Paraguay.
“It remains unclear whether the species is expanding its range,” researchers said, adding that changes to the finch’s habitat “such as forest degradation, fragmentation, or climate-related shifts, could have facilitated the species’ movement into Paraguay.”
The cinnamon warbling-finch must have access to grasslands as it eats mainly seeds, according to the study.
A cinnamon warbling-finch was spotted a few days later, but researchers said it was impossible to determine if it was the same bird recorded at the pond.
The sighting was recorded in the Reserva Natural Cañada El Carmen, a protected area of the Dry Chaco near Paraguay’s border with Bolivia
The Dry Chaco ecoregion to the east of the Andes contains mountain, arid and semi-arid landscapes and passes through Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia.
The research team included Rubén Meza, Doris Dávalos, Lorena Sforza, Pier Cacciali and Hugo del Castillo.
Read Next
World
Rare ‘woolly’ creature - with odd sonar tool on face - is discovered in eastern Andes
March 24, 2025 1:10 PM