Olive-backed Euphonia

About the Olive-backed Euphonia

The olive-backed euphonia (Euphonia gouldi) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found from Mexico to Panama. The olive-backed euphonia was originally described by Philip Sclater in 1857 with its current binomial Euphonia gouldi (though spelled "Euphonia Gouldi). Sclater chose the specific epithet gouldi to honor the English ornithologist John Gould, "one of the most eminent naturalists of the day", who had collected the type specimen. At the time, the genus Euphonia was a member of the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers. Multiple studies in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries resulted in Euphonia being reassigned to its present place in the family Fringillidae.

The olive-backed euphonia has two subspecies, the nominate E. g. gouldi (Sclater, PL, 1857), and E. g. praetermissa (Peters, JL, 1929). The olive-backed euphonia is 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs about 11 to 16 g (0.39 to 0.56 oz). It is a small euphonia with a thick stubby bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies have a yellow forehead; the patch extends to the... Wikipedia →