Purple-throated Euphonia

About the Purple-throated Euphonia

The purple-throated euphonia (Euphonia chlorotica) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile, though in French Guiana only as a vagrant.

In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the purple-throated euphonia in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Cayenne, French Guiana. He used the French name Le tangara noir et jaune de Cayenne and the Latin Tangara Cayanensis Nigrolutea. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognized by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. In 1766, when naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the purple-throated euphonia. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Tanagra chlorotica and cited Brisson's work. The specific epithet chlorotica is from the Ancient Greek khlōrotēs "greenness".

The purple-throated euphonia is now one of 25 Neotropical species placed in the... Wikipedia →