Abstract
The species Sporophila bouvreuil comprises four subspecies: S. b. bouvreuil, S. b. pileata, S. b. saturata and S. b. crypta. The males of each subspecies differ in plumage whereas the females and juveniles are very similar and difficult to identify tosubspecies. Here we use extemal morphological characters, mostly plumage, to examine the validity of the subspecies. A total of209 specimens was examined S.b. bouvreuil, 29 S. b. crypta, 43 S. b. pileata and 6 S. b. saturata). Although morphological measurements did not separate any taxa, plumage patterns support recognition of two taxonomic units, one of birds having reddish brown male plumage and the other of birds with grayish to white male plumage. Discrete diagnostic characters and sympatry in SEBrazil allow separation of Sporophila pileata (Sclater 1864) from S. bouvreuil (MuUer 1776). On the other hand, S. b. saturata Hellmayr 1904 and S. b. crypta Sick 1968 should be considered synonyms of S. bouvreuil.
NSTL