Costa Rican Brushfinch

The Costa Rican brushfinch is 17 to 20 cm (6.7 to 7.9 in) long and weighs 40 to 49.5 g (1.4 to 1.7 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a black crown with a gray stripe in the middle and a gray supercilium that extends to the nape and continues down behind the ear coverts. The rest of their face is black. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-green. Their throat is white with a narrow gray band below it. The center of their breast and belly is white, their sides and flanks gray, and their vent and undertail coverts olive-tinged. They have a dark reddish iris, a dark gray bill, and dark pink legs and feet. Juveniles are sooty black rather than jet black on the head with a gray breast and buff belly.

The Costa Rican brushfinch is found in the Pacific foothills from central Puntarenas Province and northern San José Province in Costa Rica south into western Panama's Chiriquí Province. It primarily inhabits the undergrowth of humid tropical forest and also occurs at the forest's edge, in bamboo thickets, and in gardens near its main habitat. In elevation it ranges from 240 to 1,500 m (800 to 4,900 ft) overall and 300 to 1,200 m (1,000 to 3,900 ft) in Costa Rica.

The Costa Rican brushfinch feeds on insects and seeds. It forages on or near the ground.