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Fond of nectar, this little bird often creeps about in flowering trees, probing the blossoms. It is widespread in the American tropics and especially numerous in the West Indies, including the Bahamas. Strays from the Bahamas have turned up a number of times in southern Florida, mainly in winter.

This tiny finch is abundant in Mexico and Central America, but it has had a checkered history in our area. In extreme southern Texas, the seedeater was common as recently as the 1940s, but by the mid-1970s it had all but vanished north of the border. In recent years it has reappeared in small numbers in the Falcon Dam area. Flocks of Morelet's Seedeaters feed low in rank weedy places, calling to each other in soft voices. They may roost in tall marsh growth along the Rio Grande. The surprisingly clear whistled song of the male is not often heard in our area.