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I am not privy to the exact details of sightings of this species from the El Valle area, but I
recall being told that it has only been seen once or twice around Cerro Gaital.
This regional endemic is found sporadically even in the western highlands, and is known from eastern Panama
from only a single specimen (captured in 1964 with good details provided). Sooty-faced Finch is common as close as Santa
Fé in eastern Veraguas, so it is quite reasonable to expect it to stray as far as Cerro Gaital, especially if the species is proven to truly range farther
east (the single specimen report led to the description of a subspecies, taxonomically questionable when only one bird is involved). It is possible that stray Sooty-faced Finches could be overlooked
due to a very superficial similarity to Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch, which is fairly common in the area. I found a bird at Cerro Gaital in September of 2006 that, when observed at an odd angle, could not be
identified to species, and made it a point to track the bird until I got a better look to confirm that it was "merely" a Chestnut-capped Brush-Finch.
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