Grand Cayman bullfinch

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Grand Cayman bullfinch
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Melopyrrha
Species:
M. taylori
Binomial name
Melopyrrha taylori
Hartert, 1896
Pyrrhulagra taylori map.svg
Synonyms [2]
  • Melopyrrha nigra taylori (Hartert, 1896)
  • Pyrrhulagra taylori (Hartert, 1896)

The Grand Cayman bullfinch (Melopyrrha taylori) is a threatened bird endemic to the island of Grand Cayman. It is the only bird species endemic to the Cayman Islands since the extinction of the Grand Cayman thrush (Turdus ravidus), though several bird subspecies are also endemic.

Contents

Taxonomy

The Grand Cayman bullfinch was first formally described in 1896 by the German ornithologist Ernst Hartert with Gran Cayman given as the type locality. [2] This species is one of 5 species in the genus Melopyrrha , a genus proposed in 1853 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte. [3] This genus is not closely related to the Eurasian bullfinches of the genus Pyrrhula , which are true finches, but is classified in the tanager family Thraupidae. [4] This species was once considered a subspecies of the Cuban bullfinch (M. nigra) as M. nigra taylori. It can be distinguished from the Cuban bullfinch by its slightly larger bill size and the much paler coloration of the female bird. [5]

Etymology

The Grand Cayman bullfinch belongs to the genus Melopyrrha, this name combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with the genus Pyrrhula, the bullfinches. [6] The specific name honours Mr Charles B. Taylor of Jamaica who collected the type specimens. [7]

Description

The Grand Cayman bullfinch has very robust bill with a markedly curved culmen. The male is overall glossy black, the female being a lighter olive grey, in both sexes there is a white stripe along the front edge of the folded wing. It has a length of 14 to 15 cm (5.5 to 5.9 in). [8]

Distribution and habitat

The Grand Cayman bullfinch is restricted to Grand Cayman where it is found in scrub, forest and mangroves. [9]

Conservation

The Grand Cayman bullfinch has a population that is declining due to invasive mammals. Habitat fragmentation may also be a potential major risk, though currently this is very low. [9]

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2020). "Pyrrhulagra taylori". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T103813133A180218485. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T103813133A180218485.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Grand Cayman Bullfinch Melopyrrha taylori Hartert, EJO 1896". Avibase - The World Bird Database. Denis Lepage. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  3. ↑ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1853). "Notes sur les collections rapportées en 1853, par M. A. Delattre, de son voyage en Californie et dans le Nicaragua: Troisième communication - Passereux Conirostres". Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances de l'Académie des Sciences (in French). 37: 913–925 [924].
  4. ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". AviList: The Global Avian Checklist. doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025 . Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Xochitl Ayón Güemes; Edwin Ruiz Rojas; Eduardo E. Iñigo-Elias; Guy M. Kirwan (October 24, 2023). "Cuban Bullfinch Melopyrrha nigra" . Birds of the World Online. 1.0. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY.
  6. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 250. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. ↑ Hartert, Ernst (1896). "Description of a new finch from the West Indies". Novitates Zoologicae. 3. Zoological Museum: 257.
  8. ↑ Herbert Raffaele; James Wiley; Orlando Garrido; Allan Keith; Janis Raffaele (2003). Birds of the West Indies. Helm Field Guides. Princeton University Press. pp. 192–193. ISBN   978-0-7136-5419-6.
  9. 1 2 "Grand Cayman Bullfinch". Birdlife Datazone. Birdlife International. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
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