Golden-sided Euphonia
Euphonia cayennensis
Small tanager-like finch of rainforest canopy. Male usually appears entirely black; golden tufts on sides of chest are diagnostic but can be difficult to see; note jaunty posture and voice. Female is green above and extensively gray below. Feeds on fruit and often follows mixed-species flocks; may call repeatedly from a hidden perch before flying to another distant tree. Female resembles White-lored Euphonia, but has more clean-cut appearance and gray (not yellow) undertail coverts; presence of male should aid identification of female. Most common is call a loud, grating chatter that is distinctive once learned.
Taxonomy
The golden-sided euphonia was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Tanagra and coined the binomial name Tanagra cayennensis. Gmelin's account was based on "Le tangara noir de Cayenne" that had been described in 1760 by the French ornithologist Mathurin Brisson from a specimen that had been collected in French Guiana. The golden-sided euphonia is now placed in the genus Euphonia that was introduced in 1806 by the French zoologist Anselme Desmarest. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Euphonia cayennensis
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Euphonia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Plain Swift
Apus unicolor
Medium-sized swift, very similar to Common Swift, but is noticeably paler, especially against a dark background. Wings are narrower and very pointed and the tail is longer and more deeply forked than Common or Pallid Swifts. Pale throat patch not distinct and difficult to see. Flight is very fast, agile, and erratic. Gives a shrill, wheezy scream that “hiccups” at the end. Breeds primarily on Madeira and the Canary Islands, but may move to North Africa in winter.
Baird's Junco
Junco bairdi
Distinctive sparrow found only in Sierra de La Laguna mountains near the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. Pale gray with rufous back usually extending onto wings, white outer tail feathers and a staring yellow eye. Rufous continues onto sides; bill half black, half yellow. Forages on the ground, but perches higher when singing. Song has a similar ringing tone to other juncos, but usually with several distinct sections of chips and trills.
Black-sided Flowerpecker
Dicaeum monticolum
A Bornean highland specialty, this is for the most part the only flowerpecker inhabiting the island’s montane forests. Male is striking, with a glossy dark blue back and bright red bib. Female is duller, with a gray head, yellow-olive back, pale yellow flanks and rump, and a pale throat; no other female flowerpecker has this patterning, and other flowerpecker species do not overlap significantly in range anyhow. Forages actively at all levels of forest. Clicks loudly and persistently; also gives high thin “tseeep”s.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.