Chestnut-bellied seed finch
The chestnut-bellied seed finch is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, but was until recently placed in Emberizidae.
It is found widely in shrubby and grassy areas in tropical and subtropical South America. Commonly known as "Curió" in most of the continent, specially in Brazil. In the Guyanas it is known as "Towa Towa". It has been replaced west of the Andes by the closely related thick-billed seed finch, in which the male lacks the chestnut belly of the male chestnut-bellied seed-finch. The best singers are from Brazil, where local breeders have developed breeding techniques which are helping growing population of the bird thus helping to reduce illegal traffic of the species. The two have often been considered conspecific as the lesser seed-finch, using the older scientific name O. angolensis.
