Golden-rumped Euphonia

About the Golden-rumped Euphonia

The golden-rumped euphonia (Chlorophonia cyanocephala) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in every mainland South American country except Chile and formerly was also found on Trinidad.

The golden-rumped euphonia has a complicated taxonomic history. It was originally described in 1819 with the binomial Pipra cyanocephala, mistakenly identifying it as a manakin. It was eventually reassigned to genus Euphonia that had been erected in 1806.

For a time the golden-rumped euphonia, the elegant euphonia (now C. elegantissima), and the Hispaniolan euphonia (now C. musica) were treated as a single species called the blue-hooded euphonia. They were separated by 1998 and formed a superspecies. Following further studies, in the early 2020s those three species were reassigned by most taxonomic systems to their present genus Chlorophonia that had been erected in 1851. The first version of AviList (2025) also places the golden-rumped euphonia in Chlorophonia. However, as of 2025 BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World retains it in Euphonia.

Genera Euphonia and Chlorophonia were long placed in the... Wikipedia →