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.
Taxonomy The genus Chlorophonia was erected in 1851 by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The name combines the Ancient Greek χλωρός (khlōrós), meaning "green", with the genus name Euphonia that had been introduced in 1806 by the French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest. The type species was designated as the blue-naped chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea) by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1855. The genus was once considered as a member of the tanager family, Thraupidae.
Species The genus contains ten species: Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Elegant euphonia Chlorophonia elegantissima Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.Hispaniolan euphoniaChlorophonia musicaHispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti)Puerto Rican euphoniaChlorophonia sclateriPuerto RicoLesser Antillean euphoniaChlorophonia flavifronsLesser AntillesGolden-rumped euphoniaChlorophonia cyanocephalaArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Blue-naped chlorophonia Chlorophonia cyanea south-eastern Brazil, eastern Paraguay and north-eastern Argentina, the Andes from Bolivia in south to Venezuela in north, the Perijá and Santa Marta Mountains, the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and the Tepuis. Chestnut-breasted chlorophonia Chlorophonia pyrrhophrys Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.Yellow-collared chlorophoniaChlorophonia flavirostrisColombia, Ecuador, and Panama. Blue-crowned chlorophonia Chlorophonia occipitalis El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Golden-browed chlorophonia Chlorophonia callophrys Costa Rica and Panama.
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