Black and White Seedeater Sporophila luctuosa

Seedeater seems a strange name for a group of birds since most passerine birds are seed-eaters to some exent. There are two entirely different groups of many species of birds in several genera called Seedeaters: an American group (the largest) and an African group. The Black and White Seedeater is a native to northern South America, a member of a large genus of seedeaters with big, finchlike bills for cracking open seeds and related to Tanagers. Black and White Seedeaters live in large flocks much of the year. The male's breeding plumage is black and white (shown) but the female (and non-breeding male) is brown.