Honeycreeper

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Honeycreeper
Red-legged Honeycreeper RWD12b.jpg
male red-legged honeycreeper.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Cyanerpes
Oberholser, 1899
Type species
Certhia cyanea
Linnaeus, 1766
Species

Four, all classed as Least Concern

The typical honeycreepers form a genus Cyanerpes of small birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. They are found in the tropical New World from Mexico south to Brazil. They occur in the forest canopy, and, as the name implies, they are specialist nectar feeders with long curved bills.

Contents

The four Cyanerpes species have colourful legs, long wings and a short tail. The males are typically glossy purple-blue and the females greenish.

Taxonomy and species list

The genus Cyanerpes was introduced in 1899 by the American ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser with the red-legged honeycreeper as the type species. [1] [2] The name combines the Ancient Greek kuanos meaning "dark-blue" and herpēs meaning "creeper". [3]

There are two other tanagers with honeycreeper in their common name: the green honeycreeper in the monospecific genus Chlorophanes and the golden-collared honeycreeper in the monospecific genus Iridophanes. [4] These two species are sister taxa and belong to the subfamily Hemithraupinae rather than to Dacninae with the members of Cyanerpes. [5] [6]

The genus contains four species: [4]

ImageNameCommon nameDistribution
Cyanerpes nitidus Short-billed honeycreeper Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela
Cyanerpes lucidus, Nusagandi, Panama.jpg Cyanerpes lucidus Shining honeycreeper Mexico to Panama and northwest Colombia
Purple honey creeper (Cyanerpes caeruleus longirostris) male.jpg Cyanerpes caeruleus Purple honeycreeper Colombia and Venezuela south to Brazil, and on Trinidad.
Red-legged Honeycreeper - Panama H8O2103 (23250437695).jpg Cyanerpes cyaneus Red-legged honeycreeper southern Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and on Cuba

Eggs

A commonly repeated, yet false, belief about the various honeycreeper species is that some of them lay black eggs. This idea was first made known in the scientific community with the 1899 publication of Nehrkorn's egg catalog; Nehrkorn's claim was cited in ornithological literature for many years without verification, but by the 1940s it was established that none of the members of Cyanerpes lay such eggs. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanager</span> Family of birds

The tanagers comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropical birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green honeycreeper</span> Species of bird

The green honeycreeper is a small bird in the tanager family. It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Brazil, and on Trinidad. It is the only member of the genus Chlorophanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-legged honeycreeper</span> Species of bird

The red-legged honeycreeper is a small songbird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and on Cuba, where possibly introduced. It is also rarely found in southern Texas.

<i>Tangara</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Tangara is a large genus of birds of the tanager family. It includes 27 species. All are from the Neotropics, and while most are fairly widespread, some have small distributions and are threatened. They are fairly small, ranging in size from 11.5–15 centimetres (4.5–5.9 in). This genus includes some of the most spectacularly colored birds of the world.

<i>Phrygilus</i> Genus of birds

Phrygilus is a genus of mainly Andean seed-eating tanagers commonly known as sierra finches. Phrygilos means finch in Ancient Greek. Traditionally classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown them to belong in the Thraupidae.

<i>Poospiza</i> Genus of birds

Poospiza is a genus of finch-like birds in the tanager family Thraupidae that are found in both the South American lowlands and the Andes mountains. Generally they are arboreal feeders in light woodland and scrub. All have extensive grey to their plumage, and have—often bold—white or rufous markings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-headed tanager</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-headed tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae this is found in the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil, eastern Paraguay and far northeastern Argentina. It was formerly the only member of the genus Pyrrhocoma but is now placed in Thlypopsis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masked mountain tanager</span> Species of bird

The masked mountain tanager is a vulnerable species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is the only member of the genus Tephrophilus. This large and colourful tanager is endemic to elfin forest, woodland and shrub in the Andean highlands of southern Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. It is generally rare or uncommon, and is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Loxigilla</i> Genus of birds

Loxigilla is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. The two species are both endemic to the Lesser Antilles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-and-yellow tanager</span> Species of bird

The blue-and-yellow tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-capped tanager</span> Species of bird

The blue-capped tanager is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It was formerly placed in the genus Thraupis but is now the only species in the genus Sporathraupis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban grassquit</span> Species of bird

The Cuban grassquit is a small bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to Cuba.

<i>Poospizopsis</i> Genus of birds

Poospizopsis is a genus of warbler-like tanagers. They are found in highland forest in South America.

<i>Asemospiza</i> Genus of birds

Asemospiza is a genus of South American birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.

<i>Kleinothraupis</i> Genus of birds

Kleinothraupis is a genus of warbler-like birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. They are found in highland forest in South America.

<i>Sphenopsis</i> Genus of birds

Sphenopsis is a genus of warbler-like birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. They are found in highland forest of South America.

<i>Microspingus</i> Genus of birds

Microspingus is a genus of warbler-like birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. They are found in highland forest in South America.

<i>Geospizopsis</i> Genus of birds

Geospizopsis is a genus of seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae that are commonly known as sierra finches.

<i>Ixothraupis</i> Genus of birds

Ixothraupis is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.

<i>Stilpnia</i> Genus of birds

Stilpnia is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.

References

  1. Oberholser, Harry C. (1899). "A synopsis of the blue honey-creepers of tropical America". Auk. 16: 31–35 [32]. doi:10.2307/4069264. JSTOR   4069264.
  2. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 393.
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 126. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  5. Burns, K.J.; Shultz, A.J.; Title, P.O.; Mason, N.A.; Barker, F.K.; Klicka, J.; Lanyon, S.M.; Lovette, I.J. (2014). "Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75: 41–77. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006. PMID   24583021.
  6. Burns, K.J.; Unitt, P.; Mason, N.A. (2016). "A genus-level classification of the family Thraupidae (Class Aves: Order Passeriformes)". Zootaxa. 4088 (3): 329–354. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4088.3.2. PMID   27394344.
  7. Eisenmann, Eugene (1953). "What bird lays black eggs?". Auk. 70 (3): 362–363. doi:10.2307/4081327. JSTOR   4081327.