Blue-black Grassquit
Volatinia jacarina
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyThraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)
- GenusVolatinia
- SpeciesVolatinia jacarina (Blue-black Grassquit)
About the Blue-black Grassquit
The blue-black grassquit (Volatinia jacarina) is a small Neotropical bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country, every mainland South American country, in Trinidad and Tobago, and in Grenada.
The blue-black grassquit was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tanagra jacarina. Linnaeus based his description on the "Jacarni" that was described in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. The type locality is eastern Brazil. The specific epithet jacarina is derived from the Tupi language and was used for a type of finch. The blue-black grassquit is now the only species in the genus Volatinia that was introduced in 1850 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin volatus meaning "flying".
Within the tanager family Thraupidae the blue-black grassquit is in the subfamily Tachyphoninae and is a member of a clade that contains the genera Conothraupis and Creurgops. It was formerly placed with the buntings in the... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Blue-black Grassquit in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary
Black-headed Saltator
Saltator atriceps
Morelet's Seedeater
Sporophila morelleti
Yellow-winged Tanager
Thraupis abbas
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Golden-hooded Tanager
Stilpnia larvata
Buff-throated Saltator
Saltator maximus
Blue-gray Tanager
Thraupis episcopus
Scarlet-rumped Tanager
Ramphocelus passerinii
Crimson-collared Tanager
Ramphocelus sanguinolentus
Gray-headed Tanager
Eucometis penicillata
Variable Seedeater
Sporophila corvina
Yellow-faced Grassquit
Tiaris olivaceus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Blue-black Grassquit in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-black Grassquit sighting in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, based on 126 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Blue-black Grassquit in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary?
July has the highest sighting rate for Blue-black Grassquit in Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary in our monthly data.