Yellow-shouldered Grassquit Loxipasser anoxanthus Scientific name definitions

Just one of several genera that are endemic to Jamaica, the Yellow-shouldered Grassquit is the sole member of Loxipasser. It shares the island with two other, even more widespread grassquits, the Black-faced Grassquit (Tiaris bicolor) and the Yellow-faced Grassquit (Tiaris olivaceus), but the present species is distinctly more arboreal than either of the latter two. Males are charcoal black over the head and neck, becoming paler over the rest of the underparts, with chestnut undertail coverts, whilst the upper back and wing coverts are bright yellow. Females are quite different, being mainly dull olive on the head, with gray underparts, and only the carpal area is bright yellow. The Yellow-shouldered Grassquit generally is found in well-forested areas in the highlands of Jamaica, but it wanders to lower elevations in the post-breeding season, and will visit well-vegetated gardens and dense scrub at any time of year.