Common Chlorospingus

The adult is 13.5 cm (5.3 in) long and weighs 20 g (0.71 oz) on average. They have a brown head with a (usually) thin supercilium and a white spot behind the eye and a light throat. The upperparts are olive and the underparts yellow, becoming white on the belly. Coloration, especially of the cheeks, throat and eye region, is very variable across the wide range, giving weight to the theory that these birds form a superspecies. Immatures are browner above, darker below, and have a duller olive eye spot. Hatchlings are covered in dark gray down feathers and have bright yellow bills. The call is a squeaky tseeet or chit. Songs vary widely between the populations. The related sooty-capped chlorospingus (C. pileatus) has a blacker head with a bold white supercilium rather than an eye spot. This bird is typically found from 400 to 2,300 m (1,300 to 7,500 ft) ASL in Middle America; near the Equator they are common found at altitudes of 2,000–3,500 m (6,600–11,500 ft) ASL. Its habitat – cloud forests with ample undergrowth and adjacent bushy clearings – is dominated by trees and shrubs from such families as Asteraceae, Clusiaceae, Cyatheaceae, Melastomataceae, Rubiaceae and Winteraceae, and epiphytes of the Araceae (e.g. Anthurium) and Orchidaceae. The common chlorospingus is usually encountered in small groups or as part of a mixed-species feeding flock, and is rather sedentary. …