Blue Finch

About the Blue Finch

The blue finch or yellow-billed blue finch (Rhopospina caerulescens) is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Bolivia and Brazil. The blue finch was formally described in 1830 with the binomial Tanagra caerulescens. It was later reassigned to the genus Porphyrospiza. That genus was long in family Emberizidae which at the time held many New and Old World species. There it was grouped with the cardinalines which were later separated as the family Cardinalidae. A study published in 2007 showed that the genus belonged in its present tanager family Thraupidae. Beginning in 2019 most taxonomic systems began reassigning the blue finch to the resurrected genus Rhopospina that had been erected in 1851. However, as of late 2025 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it as the only species in Porphyrospiza.

The blue finch is monotypic. The blue finch is about 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long and weighs about 13 g (0.46 oz). It is a slim bird with a long tail and a long bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males are almost entirely bright indigo-blue. They have... Wikipedia →