Euphonia | |
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Violaceous euphonia, Euphonia violacea | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Fringillidae |
Subfamily: | Euphoniinae |
Genus: | Euphonia Desmarest, 1806 |
Type species | |
Euphonia olivacea [1] = Euphonia minuta Desmarest, 1806 | |
Species | |
See text. |
Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.
The genus name is of Greek origin and refers to the birds' pleasing song, meaning "sweet-voiced" (εὖeu means "well" or "good" and φωνήphōnē means "sound", hence "of good sound").
Most male euphonias are dark metallic blue above and bright yellow below. Many have contrasting pale foreheads and white undertails. Some have light blue patches on the head and/or orangish underparts. Females much more plain, predominantly olive-green all over. They range in overall length from 9 to 11 cm (3+1⁄2 to 4+1⁄2 in). They eat small fruit and berries, particularly mistletoe (Loranthaceae). Some species may also eat some insects. [2]
Euphonias were once considered members of the tanager family, Thraupidae. [3] A molecular phylogenetic study of the finch family Fringillidae published in 2012 included 9 species from the genus Euphonia and a single species from the genus Chlorophonia, the blue-naped chlorophonia. The resulting cladogram showed the blue-naped chlorophonia nested within the Euphonia clade implying that the genus Euphonia is paraphyletic. [4] The genus was introduced in 1806 by the French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest in his Histoire naturelle des tangaras, des manakins et des todiers with the white-vented euphonia as the type species. [5] [6]
A taxonomic analysis published in 2020 found that the genus Euphonia was paraphyletic with respect to Chlorophonia. To resolve the paraphyly the authors of the study proposed the resurrection of the genus Cyanophonia that had been introduced in 1851 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte. They suggested that the Antillean euphonia (Cyanophonia musica) should be the type species. The proposed genus would contain three species: the Antillean euphonia, the golden-rumped euphonia and the elegant euphonia. An alternative and simpler way to resolve the paraphyly would be move the three species from Euphonia into Chlorophonia, which has been followed by the IOC. [7]
The genus contains 25 species: [8]
Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
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Jamaican euphonia | Euphonia jamaica | Jamaica | |
Orange-crowned euphonia | Euphonia saturata | Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru | |
Plumbeous euphonia | Euphonia plumbea | Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. | |
Purple-throated euphonia | Euphonia chlorotica | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. | |
Finsch's euphonia | Euphonia finschi | Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and eastern Venezuela. | |
Velvet-fronted euphonia | Euphonia concinna | Colombia | |
Trinidad euphonia | Euphonia trinitatis | Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. | |
West Mexican euphonia | Euphonia godmani | Mexico | |
Scrub euphonia | Euphonia affinis | Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and along the Atlantic coastal lowlands in Costa Rica. | |
Yellow-crowned euphonia | Euphonia luteicapilla | Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama | |
White-lored euphonia | Euphonia chrysopasta | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. | |
White-vented euphonia | Euphonia minuta | southern Mexico south along the Pacific coast to northwestern Ecuador, the second across northern South America from the eastern Andean foothills as far east as the state of Pará in Brazil, and south to northern Bolivia. | |
Green-chinned euphonia | Euphonia chalybea | northeastern Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. | |
Violaceous euphonia | Euphonia violacea | Trinidad, Tobago and eastern Venezuela south to Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. | |
Yellow-throated euphonia | Euphonia hirundinacea | from Belize south to western Panama | |
Thick-billed euphonia | Euphonia laniirostris | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. | |
Spot-crowned euphonia | Euphonia imitans | Costa Rica and Panama. | |
Olive-backed euphonia | Euphonia gouldi | southern Mexico to western Panama. | |
Fulvous-vented euphonia | Euphonia fulvicrissa | Colombia | |
Tawny-capped euphonia | Euphonia anneae | Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. | |
Orange-bellied euphonia | Euphonia xanthogaster | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. | |
Bronze-green euphonia | Euphonia mesochrysa | Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. | |
Golden-sided euphonia | Euphonia cayennensis | Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and eastern Venezuela. | |
Rufous-bellied euphonia | Euphonia rufiventris | Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. | |
Chestnut-bellied euphonia | Euphonia pectoralis | Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. | |
The black-throated euphonia ("Euphonia vittata") is now thought to be a hybrid between the chestnut-bellied euphonia and the orange-bellied euphonia.
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usually resident and do not migrate. They have a worldwide native distribution except for Australia and the polar regions. The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty genera. It includes the canaries, siskins, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias, as well as the morphologically divergent Hawaiian honeycreepers.
The rosefinches are a genus, Carpodacus, of passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most are called "rosefinches" and as the word implies, have various shades of red in their plumage. The common rosefinch is frequently called the "rosefinch". The genus name is from the Ancient Greek terms karpos, "fruit", and dakno, "to bite".
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.
The mountain finches are birds in the genus Leucosticte from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage.
Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest was a French zoologist and author. He was the son of Nicolas Desmarest and the father of Eugène Anselme Sébastien Léon Desmarest.
The violaceous euphonia is a small passerine bird in the true finch family Fringillidae. It is widely distributed in eastern South America.
Euphoniinae is a subfamily of finches endemic to the Neotropics. It contains two genera, Euphonia and Chlorophonia.
Chlorophonia is a genus of finches in the family Fringillidae. The Chlorophonias are endemic to the Neotropics. They are small, mostly bright green birds that inhabit humid forests and nearby habitats, especially in highlands.
The thick-billed seedeater is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The spadebills are a genus, Platyrinchus, of Central and South American passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. They have broad, flat, triangular bills.
The golden-sided euphonia is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae. It is found in northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and eastern Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.
The purple-throated euphonia is a songbird species in the family Fringillidae. It was formerly placed in the Thraupidae.
The yellow-throated euphonia is a species of songbird in the family Fringillidae. It is found in southeastern Mexico and throughout Central America with its range stretching from Belize south to western Panama. It inhabits primarily both humid and dry regions where it prefers the forest edge, open woodland, and shaded plantations. It has two subspecies, the nominate subspecies Euphonia hirundinaceahirundinacea and Euphonia hirundinacea gnatho. This finch is a small bird with pointed wings and a short bill and short tail. Males of this species have dark glossy blue-black upperparts excluding a yellow forecrown, and bright yellow underparts, while females have olive green upperparts and whitish-gray breast and lower parts. It has a shrill song that alternates between high-pitched and moderately pitched and appears to be able to mimic some calls of other birds.
The Hispaniolan euphonia is a bird species in the finch family, Fringillidae that is endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean.
The Trinidad euphonia is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae. It is common in northern Colombia and northern Venezuela and uncommon to rare on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Like all euphonias, it is small, stocky, and short-tailed; unlike some, it is sexually dimorphic. The male is glossy blue-black on the head, back, throat, and upper breast, with a bright yellow forehead and crown, and bright yellow underparts. The female is olive-green above and yellow-olive below, with a grayer patch running down the center of her breast and abdomen, and bright yellow undertail coverts. Its calls are high-pitched, plaintive whistles: the two most common are a single-pitched, double-noted "pee pee" or "tee dee", or a rising, double-noted "puwee", "cooleee" or "duu dee". Its song is a short, jumbled mix of musical and nonmusical notes.
The white-crested spadebill is a species of passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The Brazilian tanager is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil and far northeastern Argentina, occurring in the coastal region from Paraíba and southwards to Santa Catarina and Misiones.
Ramphocelus is a Neotropical genus of birds of the tanager family. They have enlarged shiny whitish or bluish-grey lower mandibles, which are pointed upwards in display. However, this is greatly reduced in the females of most species. Males are black and red, orange or yellow, while females resemble a duller version of the males, or are brownish or greyish combined with dull red, orange or yellowish.
Spinus is a genus of passerine birds in the finch family. It contains the North and South American siskins and goldfinches, as well as two Old World species.