The green-striped brushfinch (Arremon virenticeps) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is endemic to Mexico.
Taxonomy and systematics
The green-striped brushfinch has a complicated taxonomic history. It was formally described in 1855 with the binomial Buarremon virenticeps. The genus Buarremon was later merged into genus Atlapetes but further study resulted in Buarremons being resurrected.Cadena, C. D., J. Klicka and R. E. Ricklefs. (2007). "Evolutionary differentiation in the Neotropical montane region: molecular phylogenetics and phylogeography of Buarremon brush-finches (Aves, Emberizidae)." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 44(3): 993-1016. Buarremon virenticeps was for a time assigned as one of many subspecies of what was then the "stripe-headed brushfinch" (Buarremon torquatus) but was soon restored to full species status.Cadena, C. D., and A. M. Cuervo (2010). "Molecules, ecology, morphology, and songs in concert: how many species is Arremon torquatus (Aves: Emberizidae)?" Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 99(1): 152-176 In 2008 taxonomists began merging Buarremon into Arremon.Richard C. Banks, R. Terry Chesser, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Andrew W. Kratter, Irby J. Lovette, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., James D. Rising, Douglas F. Stotz, and Kevin Winker. "Forty-ninth supplement to the American Ornithological Society s Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk 2008, vol. 125:758-768 retrieved January 27, 2023
The green-striped brushfinch's further taxonomy is unsettled. The IOC, AviList, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World treat it as monotypic.AviList Core Team. 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025 retrieved June 11, 2025HBW and BirdLife International (2025). Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 10. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/about-our-science/taxonomy#birdlife-s-taxonomic-checklist retrieved October 12, 2025 However, as of late 2025 the Clements taxonomy assigns it two subspecies, the nominate A. v. virenticeps (Bonaparte, 1855) and A. v. verecundus (Moore, 1938).Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2025. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2025. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 3, 2025
This article follows the monotypic species model.
Description
The green-striped brushfinch is about long and weighs . The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a black crown with a wide yellowish olive-green stripe in the middle. They have a white spot above the lores and a wide olive-yellow supercilium on an otherwise black face. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are olive-green with yellow at the bend of the wing. Their throat and upper breast are white, their flanks olive-green, and the rest of their underparts grayish. They have a light brown to red-brown iris, a black bill, and pinkish gray to dark brown legs and feet. Juveniles have a blackish brown head and paler stripes on it than adults. Their upperparts are brownish olive. Their throat and underparts are olive-brown with white mottling on the throat and buffy yellow streaks on the belly.Ramos-Ordoñez, M. F., C. I. Rodríguez-Flores, C. A. Soberanes-González, M. d. C. Arizmendi, G. M. Kirwan, and T. S. Schulenberg (2020). Green-striped Brushfinch (Arremon virenticeps), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gsbfin1.01 retrieved May 7, 2026
Distribution and habitat
The green-striped brushfinch has a disjunct distribution in western Mexico. One population is in southern Sinaloa, northern Nayarit, and southern Durango. The other is found from Jalisco and Colima to Morelos and western Puebla. It inhabits semi-humid to humid montane evergreen forest, pine-oak forest, and fir forest in the subtropical and temperate zones. Sources differ on its elevation range. One states it is . A more recent one states it is and a very recent one almost agrees, stating it is .
Behavior Movement
The green-striped brushfinch is a year-round resident.
Feeding
The green-striped brushfinch's diet has not been studied but is assumed to be insects and seeds. It forages on or near the ground in dense vegetation and usually singly or in pairs.
Breeding
The green-striped brushfinch's breeding season has not been defined but spans at least April to July. The species apparently sometimes raises two broods in a season. Several nests were deep cups made from grass, dry leaves, and pine needles lined with fine rootlets and cattle hair. They were in dense shrubs between above the ground. One held two plain bluish white eggs that apparently were incubated solely by the female. The incubation period, time to fledging, and other details of parental care are not known.
Vocalization
The green-striped brushfinch's song is "a variable, often prolonged series of high, thin notes with slightly jerky, irregular rhythm ... ssi-ssi ssi ssi-ssi, ssi ssi-ssi ssi ssi-ssi ssi-ssi ssi-ssi-ssi, etc." and its call "a high, thin, sharp, ssii".
Status
The IUCN has assessed the green-striped brushfinch as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its estimated population of least 20,000 mature individuals is believed to be declining. No immediate threats have been identified. The species is considered fairly common to common.
References