Bullfinch
Appearance
Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds.
True bullfinches
[edit]The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus Pyrrhula. These birds are distributed across Asia and Europe mainly in temperate forests, and exclude similar-looking birds found in the Americas. They Old World Pyrrhulae include the following:
- Eurasian bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
- Brown bullfinch, Pyrrhula nipalensis
- White-cheeked bullfinch, Pyrrhula leucogenis
- Orange bullfinch, Pyrrhula aurantiaca
- Red-headed bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythrocephala
- Grey-headed bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythaca
- Azores bullfinch, Pyrrhula murina[1]
New World tanagers
[edit]There is an unrelated group of New World passerine birds also called bullfinches because of their superficial resemblances to the Old World Pyrrhula species. They were placed in the large bunting and American "sparrow" family Emberizidae, but are now considered tanagers (Thraupidae).
Two are in the genus Loxigilla:
- Lesser Antillean bullfinch, Loxigilla noctis
- Barbados bullfinch, Loxigilla barbadensis[2]
Three are in the genus Melopyrrha:
- Cuban bullfinch, Melopyrrha nigra[3]
- Puerto Rican bullfinch, Melopyrrha portoricensis
- Greater Antillean bullfinch, Melopyrrha violacea
References
[edit]- ^ "Azores bullfinch". eBird. Cornell University. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Barbados bullfinch". eBird. Cornell University. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
- ^ "Cuban bullfinch". eBird. Cornell University. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
External links
[edit]- Bullfinch videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection