Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyThraupidae (Tanagers and Allies)
- GenusSicalis (Yellow-Finches)
- SpeciesSicalis flaveola (Saffron Finch)
About the Saffron Finch
The saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America that is common in open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon Basin. They have a wide distribution in Colombia, northern Venezuela (where it is called "canario de tejado" or "roof canary"), western Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil (where it is called "canário-da-terra" or "native canary"), Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and elsewhere. Although commonly regarded as a canary, it is not related to the Atlantic canary. Formerly, it was placed in the Emberizidae but it is close to the seedeaters.
The saffron finch was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla flaveola. The specific epithet is a diminutive of the Latin flavus meaning "golden" or "yellow". The type locality is Suriname. The saffron finch is now placed in the genus Sicalis that was introduced in 1828 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie.
Five subspecies are recognised: S. f. flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Saffron Finch in Huascarán National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Huascarán National Park
Bright-rumped Yellow Finch
Sicalis uropigyalis
Greenish Yellow-Finch
Sicalis olivascens
Grassland Yellow-Finch
Sicalis luteola
Peruvian Sierra-Finch
Phrygilus punensis
Ash-breasted Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis plebejus
Tit-like Dacnis
Xenodacnis parina
Plumbeous Sierra-Finch
Geospizopsis unicolor
Plain-colored Seedeater
Catamenia inornata
Cinereous Conebill
Conirostrum cinereum
Band-tailed Seedeater
Catamenia analis
Black-throated Flowerpiercer
Diglossa brunneiventris
Giant Conebill
Conirostrum binghami
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.