Euphonia

Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.

This article is about a genus of birds. For the talking device, see Euphonia (device).
Not to be confused with Euphony.

Euphonia
Violaceous euphonia, Euphonia violacea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Euphoniinae
Genus: Euphonia
Desmarest, 1806
Type species
Euphonia olivacea[1] = Euphonia minuta
Desmarest, 1806
Species

See text.

The genus name is of Greek origin and refers to the birds' pleasing song, meaning "sweet-voiced" (εὖ eu means "well" or "good" and φωνή phōnē 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]

Species list

The genus contains 24 species:[8]

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Jamaican euphoniaEuphonia jamaicaJamaica
Orange-crowned euphonia Euphonia saturata Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru
Plumbeous euphoniaEuphonia plumbeaBrazil, 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 euphoniaEuphonia affinisBelize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and along the Atlantic coastal lowlands in Costa Rica.
Yellow-crowned euphoniaEuphonia luteicapillaCosta Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama
White-lored euphoniaEuphonia chrysopastaBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
White-vented euphoniaEuphonia minutasouthern 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 euphoniaEuphonia chalybeanortheastern Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Violaceous euphoniaEuphonia violaceaTrinidad, Tobago and eastern Venezuela south to Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.
Yellow-throated euphoniaEuphonia hirundinaceafrom Belize south to western Panama
Thick-billed euphoniaEuphonia laniirostrisBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Spot-crowned euphoniaEuphonia imitansCosta Rica and Panama.
Olive-backed euphonia Euphonia gouldi southern Mexico to western Panama.
Fulvous-vented euphoniaEuphonia fulvicrissaColombia
Tawny-capped euphoniaEuphonia anneaeColombia, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Orange-bellied euphonia Euphonia xanthogaster Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.
Bronze-green euphoniaEuphonia mesochrysaBolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Golden-sided euphoniaEuphonia cayennensisBrazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and eastern Venezuela.
Rufous-bellied euphoniaEuphonia rufiventrisBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
Chestnut-bellied euphoniaEuphonia pectoralisArgentina, 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.

References
  1. "Fringillidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive". Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 15 July 2015.(subscription required)
  3. Banks, Richard C.; Cicero, Carla; Dunn, Jon L.; Kratter, Andrew W.; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Remsen, J.V. Jr.; Rising, James D.; Stotz, Douglas F. (2003). "Forty-fourth supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds". The Auk. 120 (3): 923–931. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0923:FSTTAO]2.0.CO;2.
  4. Zuccon, Dario; Prŷs-Jones, Robert; Rasmussen, Pamela C.; Ericson, Per G.P. (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (2): 581–596. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002. PMID 22023825.
  5. Desmarest, Anselme Gaëtan (1806). Histoire naturelle des tangaras, des manakins et des todiers (in French). Paris: Garnery. p. 35 and plate 27 (pages and plates are not numbered).
  6. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 340.
  7. Imfeld, Tyler S.; Barker, F. Keith; Brumfield, Robb T. (2020). "Mitochondrial genomes and thousands of ultraconserved elements resolve the taxonomy and historical biogeography of the Euphonia and Chlorophonia finches (Passeriformes: Fringillidae)". The Auk. 137 (3). doi:10.1093/auk/ukaa016.
  8. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Finches, euphonias". World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
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