Tricolored Brushfinch

The tricolored brushfinch or golden-crowned brushfinch (Atlapetes tricolor) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is endemic to Peru. == Taxonomy and systematics == The tricolored brushfinch was formally described in 1875 with the binomial Buarremon tricolor. In the early twentieth century genus Buarremon was merged into Atlapetes. For a time what is now the Choco brushfinch (A. crassus), which had been described as a species, was considered a subspecies of the tricolored brushfinch. As early as 1960 an author advocated returning it to full species status. By 2012 the IOC had recognized it as a species. In 2014 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World followed suit as did the Clements taxonomy in 2024. (Clements called it the golden-crowned brushfinch to avoid confusion with the two-subspecies predecessor.) The first version of AviList in 2025 also recognized it. However, as of February 2026 the independent South American Classification Committee has declined to recognize the split but has a proposal to do so under consideration. The tricolored brushfinch is monotypic. == Description == The tricolored brushfinch is 16 to 18 cm (6.3 to 7.1 in) long and weighs about 36 g (1.3…