The violaceous euphonia (Euphonia violacea) is a small passerine bird in the true finch family Fringillidae. It is widely distributed in eastern South America.
Taxonomy
The violaceous euphonia was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae based on a specimen in the collection of Adolf Frederick of Sweden. He placed it with the finches in the genus Fringilla and coined the binomial name Fringilla violacea. The specific epithet is from Latin violaceus meaning "violet-coloured". Linnaeus specified the type locality as Calidis regionibus ("hot countries") but in 1902 Hans von Berlepsch and Ernst Hartert designated the locality as Suriname. The violaceous euphonia is now one of 25 Neotropical species placed in the genus Euphonia that was introduced in 1806 by the French zoologist Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest.
Three subspecies are recognised: The violaceous euphonia's song is a varied mix of musical notes, squeaks, chattering and imitation.
Members of the genus Euphonia are prized as cage birds and several are threatened by trapping, but this species benefits from its relatively inaccessible habitat.
References
Bibliography
External links
- Violaceous euphonia videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- (for Trinidad and Tobago) with range map
- Violaceous euphonia photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res
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