Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They and the chlorophonias comprise the subfamily Euphoniinae.
The genus name comes from Ancient Greek εὖ (eû), meaning "well, "good", and φωνή (phōnḗ), meaning "sound", and thus, "of good sound", due to the pleasing calls of the bird.
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 . They eat small fruit and berries, particularly mistletoe (Loranthaceae). Some species may also eat some insects.
Taxonomy Euphonias were once considered members of the tanager family, Thraupidae. 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. 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.
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.
Species list The genus contains 25 species: Image Common name Scientific name Distribution Jamaican euphonia Euphonia jamaica JamaicaOrange-crowned euphoniaEuphonia saturataColombia, Ecuador, and Peru Plumbeous euphonia Euphonia plumbeaBrazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.Purple-throated euphoniaEuphonia chloroticaArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.Finsch's euphoniaEuphonia finschiBrazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and eastern Venezuela.Velvet-fronted euphoniaEuphonia concinnaColombiaTrinidad euphoniaEuphonia trinitatisColombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.West Mexican euphoniaEuphonia godmaniMexico Scrub euphonia Euphonia affinis Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua and along the Atlantic coastal lowlands in Costa Rica. Yellow-crowned euphonia Euphonia luteicapillaCosta Rica, Nicaragua, and PanamaWhite-lored euphonia Euphonia chrysopastaBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. White-vented euphonia Euphonia minuta southern 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 euphonia Euphonia chalybea northeastern Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Violaceous euphonia Euphonia violaceaTrinidad, Tobago and eastern Venezuela south to Paraguay and northeastern Argentina.Yellow-throated euphonia Euphonia hirundinaceafrom Belize south to western Panama Thick-billed euphonia Euphonia laniirostris Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Spot-crowned euphonia Euphonia imitans Costa Rica and Panama.Olive-backed euphoniaEuphonia gouldisouthern Mexico to western Panama. Fulvous-vented euphonia Euphonia fulvicrissaColombiaTawny-capped euphonia Euphonia anneae Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. Orange-bellied euphoniaEuphonia xanthogasterBolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Bronze-green euphonia Euphonia mesochrysa Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Golden-sided euphonia Euphonia cayennensisBrazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and eastern Venezuela. Rufous-bellied euphonia Euphonia rufiventris Bolivia, 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
External links
Euphonia videos, photos and sounds on the Internet Bird Collection