Yellow-breasted Brushfinch

The yellow-breasted brushfinch is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long and weighs about 16 to 31 g (0.56 to 1.1 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies A. l. latinuchus have a rufous to orange-rufous stripe from the forehead to the nape. Their face is black with a wide yellow lower cheek and a thin black line below it. Their upperparts are dark slate gray. Their wings are slightly blacker with white bases on the primaries. Their tail is blackish with olive feather edges. Their throat, breast, and belly are bright yellow with a slight olivaceous wash on the sides of the breast and the flanks. The other subspecies of the yellow-breasted brushfinch differ from the nominate and each other thus:

A. l. elaeoprorus: pale spot above the lores, greenish olive upperparts, and larger primary patch than nominate A. l. yariguierum: little or no dark cheek stripe, almost black upperparts, no white primary patch, and deeper olive wash on sides and flanks A. l. caucae: deep rufous crown, pale spot above the lores, olive-washed cheek stripe, and largest primary patch A. l. spodionotus: faint olive-brown cheek stripe, dark olive-brown upperparts, and little or no white on primaries A. l. comptus: yellow spot above the lores, thicker black cheek stripe than nominate A. l. …

The yellow-breasted brushfinch has a disjunct distribution. The subspecies are found thus:

A. l. elaeoprorus: Andes of north-central Colombia's Antioquia Department A. l. yariguierum Serranía de los Yariguíes in north-central Colombia's Santander Department A. l. caucae: Colombia's Western Andes and west slope of the southern end of the Central Andes A. l. spodionotus: Colombian Andes in Nariño Department and south on the eastern slope into Ecuador to Chimborazo Province A. l. comptus: western Andean slope from Cañar Province in south-central Ecuador south into far northern Peru's Piura Department A. l. latinuchus: eastern Andean slope from eastern Azuay and Loja provinces in southeastern Ecuador into northern Peru's Amazonas Department A. l. chugurensis: Pacific Andean slope in northwestern Peru's Cajamarca Department A. l. baroni: upper watershed of the Marañón River in northwestern Peru's Cajamarca and La Libertad departments The yellow-breasted brushfinch inhabits a variety of semi-open brushy landscapes including the edges of forest, secondary forest, thickets along roads, and overgrown pastures. It is more tolerant of disturbed areas than many other brushfinches. In elevation it ranges between 1,600 and 3,600 m (5,200 and 11,800 ft) in Colombia, mostly between 1,500 and 3,200 m (4,900 and 10,500 ft) in Ecuador, and between 1,850 and 3,225 m (6,100 and 10,600 ft) in Peru.

The yellow-breasted brushfinch's diet has not been studied but appears to be mostly insects and seeds. It forages in the understory in pairs or small groups, taking most food by gleaning while perched and occasionally with short sallies or hops. It seldom joins mixed-species feeding flocks but occasionally forages in loose flocks with other brushfinches.