Pirre chlorospingus

The Pirre chlorospingus was formally described by Edward William Nelson in 1912 with the binomial Hylospingus inornatus and the English name "Mount Pirri Tanager". Nelson erected the genus for this species and noted the strong similarity of Hylospingus to the existing genus Chlorospingus.^[3] Genus Hylospingus was later subsumed into Chlorospingus. During the twentieth century and into the twenty-first the Chlorospingus species were members of the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers, though their position within the family were uncertain.^[4] Based on studies published in 2002, 2003, and 2007, beginning in 2010 taxonomic systems transferred Chlorospingus to its present sparrow family.^[5][6] The Chlorospingus species were originally called "bush tanagers" or "bush-tanagers". Beginning in 2013 systems began changing the English name of the members of the genus to "chlorospingus" because they were no longer considered tanagers.^[7][8]

The Pirre chlorospingus is monotypic.^[2]

The Pirre chlorospingus is about 15 cm (5.9 in) long and weighs 20 to 36 g (0.71 to 1.3 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dark gray crown and face. Their nape and upperparts are olive-green. Their flight feathers are dusky with dark green edges on the outer webs of the primaries and wider olive edges on the secondaries; the tertials are mostly olive. The central tail feathers are dusky; the rest are dusky with increasing amounts of olive on their edges to the outermost. Their throat is yellowish white and their upper breast, sides, and flanks are darker olive-yellow. The middle of their lower breast, their belly, and their undertail coverts are yellow. Both sexes have a whitish to pale orange-yellow iris, a black bill, and slaty gray to fuscous black legs and feet.^[9]

The Pirre chlorospingus is found in extreme eastern Darién Province in Panama near the Colombian border. It is best known from Cerro Pirre (or Cerro Pirri), where the type specimen was collected, Cerro Sapo, and the Serranía de Jungurudó.^[9] There are also a few eBird records from Cerro Mecana in Colombia's west-central Chocó Department.^[10] However, the South American Classification Committee has no records in that country and major taxonomic systems also do not recognize it there.^{[11][2][12][13]} The Pirre chlorospingus inhabits the canopy and edges of montane evergreen forest and also elfin forest in the upper tropical and subtropical zones.^[4][9] It favors stands of bamboo and vine tangles.^[9] It elevation it ranges from 800 to 1,650 m (2,600 to 5,400 ft).^[4]

The IUCN has assessed the Pirre chlorospingus as being of Least Concern. It has a restricted range and its estimated population of at least 20,000 mature individuals is believed to be stable. The only expected threat is stress on its habitat due to climate change.^[1] It "[o]ccurs within remote and largely inaccessible Darién National Park (Panama). Threats to this region are at present minimal, but the park, because of its remoteness, largely lacks effective protection".^[9]