Seedcracker

Seedcracker
Black-bellied seedcracker (Pyrenestes ostrinus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Estrildidae
Genus:	Pyrenestes Swainson, 1837
Type species
Pirenestes sanguineus [1] Swainson, 1837
Species
P. sanguineus P. ostrinus P. minor

The seedcrackers are the genus Pyrenestes of the estrildid finches family. These birds are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are gregarious seed eaters with short, very thick, grey bills. All have crimson on the face and tail.

Taxonomy

The genus Pyrenestes was introduced by the English zoologist William Swainson to accommodate a single species, Pirenestes sanguineus, the crimson seedcracker. This species is the type by monotypy. In the heading to Swainson's text the name is written as Pirenestes but this spelling is considered a lapsus as elsewhere in the text the name is spelled Pyrenestes. ^{[2] [3]} The genus name is combines the Ancient Greek πυρην/purēn, πυρηνος/purēnos meaning "fruit-stone" with -εστης/-estēs meaning "-eater". ^[4]

Species

The genus contains three species: ^[5]

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Crimson seedcracker	Pyrenestes sanguineus	Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
	Black-bellied seedcracker	Pyrenestes ostrinus	SE Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, South Sudan, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Western and Southern Cameroon, Central African Republic, SW Chad, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Uganda, W Kenya, Angola, Zambia and SW Tanzania.
	Lesser seedcracker	Pyrenestes minor	Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

References

1. "Estrildidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
2. Swainson, William (1837). The Natural History of the Birds of Western Africa. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: W.H. Lizars. p. 156.
3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 318.
4. Jobling, James A. "Pyrenestes". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 8 August 2025.

• Clement, Harris and Davis, Finches and Sparrows ISBN   0-7136-8017-2