---
title: "Rufous-collared Sparrow"
description: "Zonotrichia capensis — Birds. The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/rufous-collared-sparrow
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Rufous-collared Sparrow

> Zonotrichia capensis — Birds. The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.

- Scientific name: *Zonotrichia capensis*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `mountains` (Mountains), `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 46311
- Wikidata: [Q587505](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q587505)
- iNaturalist taxon: [9183](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/9183)

## Names

- en: Rufous-collared Sparrow
- de: Morgenammer
- es: Gorrión Chingolo
- fr: Bruant chingolo
- nl: Roodkraaggors
- pt: Tico-tico
- pl: Pasówka obrożna

## Countries with the most observations

AR (12430), CO (6082), EC (4771), BR (4668), CL (4112), CR (3168), PE (3048), BO (2541), MX (642), UY (567), GT (520), PA (423)

## Summary

The rufous-collared sparrow or Andean sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis) is an American sparrow found in a wide range of habitats, often near humans, from the extreme south-east of Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, and the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It has diverse vocalizations, which have been intensely studied since the 1970s, particularly by Paul Handford and Stephen C. Lougheed (UWO), Fernando Nottebohm (Rockefeller University) and Pablo Luis Tubaro (UBA). Local names for this bird include the Portuguese tico-tico and mariquinha, the Aymara Pichitanka the Spanish copetón ("tufted") in Colombia, as well as chingolo…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous-collared_sparrow

## Photo

![Rufous-collared Sparrow](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/rufous-collared-sparrow/medium.jpg)

Photo: Irene · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/279090523

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/rufous-collared-sparrow?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).