Hispaniolan Euphonia
Chlorophonia musica
Endemic to Hispaniola. A brilliantly colored, tiny, and active species of dense woodlands where it feeds at middle to upper levels, primarily on mistletoe berries. Sometimes joins mixed flocks. Easy to miss despite bright colors and flitting movements. Note small size, short tail, and small (though rather thick) bill. Male has a blue helmet, bright orange underparts, a dark face and throat, and dark iridescent purple upperparts. Female is olive-green overall; note distinctive blue helmet and small orange forehead patch. Calls include a lively “beep” given singly or in series, a rapid “whip-ip,” a rough “djip,” and a plaintive “wheee.” Song is a rapid jumble of tinkling, squeaky, and whistled notes.
Identification
The Hispaniolan euphonia (Chlorophonia musica) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola that is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Taxonomy
The Hispaniolan 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 with the manakins in the genus Pipra and coined the binomial name Pipra musica. The specific epithet is from Latin musicus meaning "musical" or "musician". Gmelin based his account on "L'organiste", a bird from Saint-Domingue, a French colony on the island of Hispaniola, that had been described in 1778 by the French polymath the Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume work, Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. A hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet was published separately to accompany Buffon's text.<p>The Hispaniolan euphonia was formerly placed in the genus Euphonia. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that the "blue-hooded" euphonias, the Hispaniolan, elegant and golden-rumped euphonias, formed a distinct clade that was sister to the genus Chlorophonia. To resolve the paraphyly these three species were moved from Euphonia to Chlorophonia.<p>The Hispaniolan euphonia was previously considered to be conspecific with the Puerto Rican euphonia (Chlorophonia sclateri) and the Lesser Antillean euphonia (Chlorophonia flavifrons). The common name "Antillean euphonia" was used for the species complex. The complex was split based on the significant differences in plumage.
- Scientific name
- Chlorophonia musica
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Chlorophonia
Range and habitat
It is found on the island of Hispaniola, (Dominican Republic and Haiti).Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and heavily degraded former forest.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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