Birds used in feeding experiments were
four New World sparrow species belonging
to the family Emberizidae: Cinnamon
Warbling-Finch (Poospiza ornata; body weight:
13 g), Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia
capensis; 19 g), Many-colored Chaco-Finch
(Saltatricula multicolor; 22 g), and Common
Diuca-Finch (Diuca diuca; 25 g). As members of
a ground-foraging guild (Lopez de Casenave
2001), these species mainly search for and
obtain seeds from the soil.