Black-capped Hemispingus

The black-capped hemispingus (Kleinothraupis atropileus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in the Andes mountains of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. == Taxonomy == The black-capped hemispingus was formally described as Arremon atro-pileus by the French ornithologist Frédéric de Lafresnaye in 1842. Lafresnaye erroneously gave the type locality of the species as Bolivia, but it was later corrected to Bogotá, Colombia. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin words meaning "black skullcap". The black-capped hemispingus has two recognised subspecies. These subspecies are sometimes considered separate species. K. a. atropileus (Lafresnaye, 1842): The nominate subspecies, it is found from Venezuela south through Colombia and Ecuador to far northwest Peru. K. a. auricularis (Cabanis, 1873): It is only found in Peru south of the Marañón River. == Description == The black-capped hemispingus is, on average, 15–16 cm (5.9–6.3 in) long and weighs 18–26 g (0.6–0.9 oz). It has olive-brown upperparts, and largely olive to olive-yellow underparts. The throat is ochreous-yellow, grading to a yellow-olive towards the underparts. The sides and top of the head are pure black, with a buff-and-white supercilium that stretches to the…