Amaurospiza is a genus of seed-eating birds in the cardinal family Cardinalidae that are found in Central and South America.
| Amaurospiza | |
|---|---|
.JPG)
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| Blackish-blue seedeater (Amaurospiza moesta) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cardinalidae |
| Genus: | Amaurospiza Cabanis, 1861 |
| Type species | |
| Amaurospiza concolor Cabanis, 1861
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| Species | |
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See text | |
These blue seedeaters are allopatrically distributed and show only small differences in plumage coloration and body measurements. They are sexually dimorphic in plumage: the male is slaty blue while the female is tawny brown. They favour bamboo thickets where they feed on buds, shoots and insects.[1][2]
Taxonomy and species list edit
The genus Amaurospiza was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1861 with Cabanis's seedeater as the type species.[3][4] The name is derived from the Ancient Greek amauros, meaning "dusky", and σπίζα (spíza), a catch-all term for finch-like birds.[5][6]
This genus was formerly included in the tanager family Thraupidae. It was moved to the cardinal family Cardinalidae based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2007.[7][8]
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships within the genus as determined by Juan Areta and collaborators in 2023.[2]
| Amaurospiza |
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The following table lists the four species in the genus with their distribution.[8]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Blue seedeater | Amaurospiza concolor | southern Mexico and Central America |
.jpg) |
Ecuadorian seedeater | Amaurospiza aequatorialis (formerly conspecific with A. concolor) | southwest Colombia through Ecuador to northern Peru |
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Blackish-blue seedeater | Amaurospiza moesta | Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay |
| Carrizal seedeater | Amaurospiza carrizalensis | northern Venezuela |
References edit
- ^ Ridgely, Robert S.; Tudor, Guy (2009). Birds of South America: Passerines. Helm Field Guides. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 633–634. ISBN 978-1-408-11342-4.
- ^ a b Areta, J.I.; Benítez Saldívar, M.J.; Lentino, M.; Miranda, J.; Ferreira, M.; Klicka, J.; Pérez-Emán, J. (2023). "Phylogenetic relationships and systematics of the bamboo-specialist Amaurospiza blue seedeaters". Ibis. doi:10.1111/ibi.13181. S2CID 255881753.
- ^ Cabanis, Jean (1861). "Uebersicht der im Berliner Museum befindlichen Vögel von Costa Rica". Journal für Ornithologie (in German). 9 (49): 1–11 [3].
- ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 150.
- ^ Bailly, Anatole (1981-01-01). Abrégé du dictionnaire grec français. Paris: Hachette. ISBN 978-2010035289. OCLC 461974285.
- ^ Bailly, Anatole. "Greek-french dictionary online". www.tabularium.be. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- ^ Klicka, J.; Burns, K.; Spellman, G.M. (2007). "Defining a monophyletic Cardinalini: A molecular perspective". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (3): 1014–1032. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.006. PMID 17920298.
- ^ a b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (December 2023). "Cardinals, grosbeaks and (tanager) allies". IOC World Bird List Version 14.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
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