Sicalis is a genus of birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae.

Sicalis
Saffron finch
Sicalis flaveola
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Thraupidae
Genus: Sicalis
F. Boie, 1828
Type species
Emberiza braziliensis
Gmelin, 1789

Taxonomy and species list edit

The genus Sicalis was introduced in 1828 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie.[1] The name is from the Ancient Greek σικαλίς/sikalis, a small, black-headed bird, mentioned by Epicharmus, Aristotle, and other authors. It was perhaps a warbler in the genus Sylvia.[2] The type species is the saffron finch.[3] The genus now contains 13 species.[4]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
  Sicalis citrina Stripe-tailed yellow finch Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela
  Sicalis taczanowskii Sulphur-throated finch Ecuador and Peru
  Sicalis uropigyalis Bright-rumped yellow finch the Altiplano of Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile and Argentina
  Sicalis flaveola Saffron finch Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago
  Sicalis columbiana Orange-fronted yellow finch Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela
  Sicalis luteola Grassland yellow finch Colombia south and east to the Guianas and central Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Birds which breed further south in Argentina and Uruguay migrate to Bolivia and southern Brazil in the austral winter. There are also isolated populations in Central America and Mexico
  Sicalis luteocephala Citron-headed yellow finch Andes of Bolivia and far northern Argentina
  Sicalis lebruni Patagonian yellow finch Argentina and Tierra del Fuego; also Chile.
  Sicalis olivascens Greenish yellow finch the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru
  Sicalis mendozae Monte yellow finch western Argentina.
  Sicalis auriventris Greater yellow finch Argentina and Chile
Sicalis raimondii Raimondi's yellow finch Peru
  Sicalis lutea Puna yellow finch Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru

References edit

  1. ^ Boie, Friedrich (1828). "Bemerkungen über mehrere neue Vogelgattungen". Isis von Oken (in German). 21. Cols 312–328 [324].
  2. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 356. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  3. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 122.
  4. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "Tanagers and allies". IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 16 October 2020.