Buntings and New World Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Plain-tailed Warbling-finch (Poospiza alticola) - HBW 16, p. 623

French: Chipiu alticole German: Grauschwanz-Ammerfink Spanish: Monterita de Cajamarca

Taxonomy: Poospiza alticola Salvin, 1895, Huamachuco, 10,400 feet [c. 3170 m], La Libertad, Peru.
New molecular data indicate that genus forms a clade with the tanager (Thraupidae) genera Hemispingus and Thlypopsis, and that Compsospiza, which often subsumed within present genus, is sister to that clade. Earlier research suggests that this species is most closely related to P. torquata, P. melanoleuca and P. erythrophrys. Monotypic.

Distribution: Upper Marañón Valley in S Cajamarca, La Libertad and E Ancash (essentially W of R Marañón, except for sites in W La Libertad), in W Peru.