It has been thought by Davis Steadman that the ancestral finch of the Galapagos might be V. jacarina. Some 100,000 years ago, grassquits probably made their way across the 600 miles of Pacific to Galapagos. The small birds happened upon a landscape relatively free of competitors, since the isolated location of the Galapagos meant that new species came there infrequently.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Volatinia jacarina have no special conservation status as they are a common and widespread species.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Volatinia jacarina are small seed eaters, so they are usually found near cultivated areas. They can cause crop losses for farmers.
Volatinia jacarina are enjoyed by birdwatchers. They are relatively easy to be seen so they are tourist attractions in many Central and South American countries.
This species are also prefered as a backyard bird with other finches. They are sometimes raised in large aviaries (Garrigues 1999).
They are basically small seed-eaters, but they also often feed on small insects. The type of seeds eaten depend on what plant species are available.
Animal Foods: insects
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: herbivore (Granivore )
Volatinia jacarina occur from Mexico and Central America southward through Brazil to Chile and Argentina. They are abundant resident of fields, grassland and clearings everywhere between elevations of about 5000 to 8000 feet from sea level.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Volatinia jacarina inhabit forest edges, woodland, wet grassland, and cultivated area. They are also found around tangles of weeds and vines, cropped pastures, sugar cane, lava flows, tule marshes, mimosa thickets, pine woods, and even in the cloud forest. The greatest concentrations occur in open country grown extensively with bunch grass and mimosa brush.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest ; mountains
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Volatinia jacarina are on average 10 cm in length (wing = 53 mm, tail = 44 mm, and bill = 10 mm). The male are distinguished from the brownish females and juveniles by their glossy black plumage and white underwings. The male has a concealed white spot at the juncture of the wing and body that can be seen in display flights. Females have greyish brown upperparts and pale beige below. Their throat and breast are steaked greyish brown. The iris is dark brown. The upper mandible is black, while the lower mandible is bluish grey. Feet are grey (Davis 1972; Dubs 1999).
A juvenile male has a complete postjuvenal molt in the very late fall or early winter which results in a plumage very similar to the adult female, except that the wings and tail are dull black with olive or brownish edgings. In the following early summer, there is a prenuptial body molt which produces a glossy, blue-black plumage like the adult summer male. The body molt occurs during May and June. The female also have two body molts a year, molting in the early summer to a plumage decidedly less brownish than the winter dress. As in the male, the complete molt starts as early as the last week in April (Davis 1972).
Average length: 10 cm.
Sexual Dimorphism: male more colorful
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Courting begins in early May and, since males can be seen performing until late in August, it is probable that the breeding season roughly corresponds to these dates. The height of the season is from early June to late August. The nests are constructed during July and they are made with marsh grass and plant fibers among the tufts of grasses or in low shrubs. The nest looks like an wiry basket and are remarkably rigid even though the bottoms and sides can be seen through. The female normally lays two or three eggs that are greenish or bluish white with dark spots.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
