Black-masked Finch

About the Black-masked Finch

The black-masked finch (Coryphaspiza melanotis) is a Vulnerable species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru. The black-masked finch was formally described in 1822 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck with the binomial Emberizoides melanotis. The type locality is São Paulo, Brazil. The species is now placed in the genus Coryphaspiza that was introduced by George Robert Gray in 1840 with the black-masked finch as the type species. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek koruphē meaning "crown of the head" with spiza meaning "finch". The specific epithet melanotis combines the Ancient Greek melas meaning "black" with -ōtis meaning "-eared".

When Gray erected genus Coryphaspiza he retained it in the subfamily Emberizinae of the family Emberizidae, which at the time included both New World sparrows and New World buntings. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that the black-masked finch belonged in the tanager family Thraupidae. Within Thraupidae the black-masked finch is now placed with genera Embernagra and Emberizoides in the subfamily Emberizoidinae... Wikipedia →