Pyrrhula
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| Eurasian bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula | |
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Pyrrhula
Brisson, 1760
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Pyrrhula is a small genus of passerine birds, commonly called bullfinches, belonging to the finch family (Fringillidae).
The genus has a palearctic distribution. All species occur in Asia with two species exclusively in the Himalayas and one species, P. pyrrhula, also occurring in Europe. The Azores bullfinch (P. murina) is a critically endangered species (about 120 pairs remaining), occurring only in the east of the island of São Miguel in the Azores archipelago.
Analysis of the mtDNA cytochrome b sequence indicates that the holarctic pine grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) is the closest living relative of this genus. Arguably, it could be included in Pyrrhula, but more probably is a distinct offshoot of a common ancestor, with the pine grosbeak as the sister group to the ancestor of the bullfinches.[1] The evolution of the bullfinch species started soon after the pine grosbeak's ancestors diverged from them (at the end of the Middle Miocene, about a dozen mya), and it is quite possible that the latter species evolved in North America; what is fairly certain is that the bullfinch radiation started in the general area of the Himalayas. The mountain finches also seem to be part of this clade.[2]
Bullfinches have glossy black wings and tail feathers. They show a white rump. The legs and feet are fleshy brown. Their short, swollen bill is adapted to eat buds, and is black except for the brown bullfinch, which has a grey or greenish-grey bill. The males can be distinguished by their orange or red breast. Some species have a black cap.
The name of Pyrrhula for the genus was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[3][4] It was derived by tautonymy from the binomial name of the Eurasian bullfinch Loxia pyrrhula introduced by Linnaeus in 1758.[4][5]
Species
There are seven recognised species in the genus:[6]
- Orange bullfinch, Pyrrhula aurantiaca
- Grey-headed bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythaca
- Red-headed bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythrocephala
- White-cheeked bullfinch, Pyrrhula leucogenis
- Azores bullfinch, Pyrrhula murina
- Brown bullfinch, Pyrrhula nipalensis
- Eurasian bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula
References
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