The Azores bullfinch (''Pyrrhula murina''), also known as the São Miguel bullfinch, or locally in Portuguese as the ''priolo'', is a

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the

true finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to São Miguel Island, in the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

of Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Taxonomy

The Azores bullfinch was first described in 1866 by British ornithologist Frederick Godman. It was formerly regarded as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the Eurasian bullfinch (''Pyrrhula pyrrhula''), but was split off in 1993. According to a 2001 study by Arnaiz-Villena et al. all birds belonging to the genus ''Pyrrhula'' originated from the pine grosbeak.

Description

The Azores bullfinch has a length of 15–17 cm and a weight of about 30 g, with males being slightly larger than females.SPEA: Priolo Relative to most other finches in its family it is plump, with shorter wings and a longer tail. The plumage pattern is similar to that of the Eurasian bullfinch, though colouration is more sombre, lacking its bright pink underparts. It has a black cap, face, wings and tail; the rest being greyish or pale grey-brown. Males and females are virtually identical in appearance, though males may exhibit a faint pinkish suffusion on the belly and flanks.Ramos (1995), p. 5. The contact call is a distinctive short, flute-like, melancholic whistle.

Distribution and habitat

The Azores bullfinch is now largely restricted to a small area (c. 580 ha) of native

laurisilva Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

forest at the eastern end of São Miguel, 300–-800 m

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

, mainly centred on

Pico da Vara Pico da Vara is the highest mountain on the island of São Miguel, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, and principal special protection of the Nature Reserve of Pico da Vara. The area around the mountain includes the largest remaining sta ...

in the Serra da Tronqueira range, but also seasonally (September to December) around Salto do Cavalo, further westwards in the range. The latter population probably comprises juveniles following post-fledging dispersal. The species has never been recorded from the western end of the island. Necessary for the recovery of the Azores bullfinch is to restore its available ecological enclaves in the northern archipelago of Macaronesia. The process of species decline, which a significant portion of other endemic Azorean flora is also suffering, is favored by the expansion of invasive alien plants. Projects dedicated to saving the Azores bullfinch include the restoration of original

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elo ...

habitat in the eastern monteverde of São Miguel.

Behaviour

Breeding

Breeding takes place from mid June to late August. Nests are built in dense vegetation in laurel forest, with two nests recorded as being 3 m above the ground, and are similar to those of the Eurasian bullfinch. Nests are double-layered with an outer layer of twigs and an inner one of grass, rootlets and moss.Ramos (2000) The clutch size is unknown. Young birds

fledge Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable c ...

from mid-July, with the adults moulting from September onwards.

Feeding

The Azores bullfinch's diet is mainly herbivorous, with the birds consuming a range of seeds, fruits, flower buds,

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

sporangia A sporangium (; from Late Latin, ) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cy ...

and fronds (unusual in birds), and moss tips, as well as some invertebrates such as

hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

. Native vegetation is preferred although, when the range was more extensive in the 19th century, the species was considered to be a pest in orange orchards around Furnas. The bullfinches move up and downslope through their range according to food availability during the year. The lily of the valley tree (''

Clethra arborea ''Clethra arborea'', commonly known as the lily-of-the-valley-tree, is a flowering plant in the genus '' Clethra''. It is found in Macaronesia where it is native to Madeira, extinct in the Canary Islands, and considered an introduced species ...

'') contributes greatly to the Azores bullfinch's diet. This evergreen shrub or small tree, once believed to be endemic to

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, but now known to have existed in the past on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

(where it is considered extinct), raises questions about how it should be treated in the Azores. While it is considered exotic, it is possible that it was native to the Azores, disappeared from there before any botanist had the chance to record it, and was then reintroduced more recently. Despite being an "alien" species, it is a notable element of the bird's diet and therefore plays some role in its survival.

Status and conservation

The population of the Azores bullfinch is small; it was estimated to comprise 30–40 pairs in the late 1970s, 100 pairs in 1989, and between 60 and 200 pairs in the early 1990s, though in 2008 it was estimated at 775 individuals. It is the most threatened

bird and the second rarest bird behind the northern bald ibis (''Geronticus eremita'') in Europe. The population was once larger and spread over a wider range, but both numbers and range have declined since the 1920s following the destruction of areas of its forest habitat for grazing and agriculture, as well as afforestation and invasion by introduced plants, especially the Japanese cedar ('' Cryptomeria japonica'').Ramos (1995), p. 4. The entire range of the species is protected as a Special Protection Area, the Pico da Vara / Ribeira do Guilherme SPA (a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

site), under

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...

. The main approach to conserving the species is the protection and restoration of threatened native laurel forest vegetation.

References

Notes

Works cited

* Bibby, Colin J.; Charlton, Trevor D. & Ramos, Jaime (1992): Studies of West Palearctic birds, 191. * Bibby, Colin J.; Charlton, Trevor D.: Observations on the São Miguel bullfinch, Açoreana 7 (1991), pp. 297–304
BirdLife International (BLI) Species Factsheet
*Bibby, Colin J.; Charlton, Trevor D. & Ramos, Jaime (1992): Studies of West Palearctic birds. Azores Bullfinch In: '' British Birds'' 85(12): 677–680. * Ceia, R. (2008). ''Monitorização da população de Priolo. Relatório da acção F6 do Projecto LIFE Priolo''. SPEA: Lisbon. * Ramos, Jaime A. (Compiler). (1995). ''Action Plan for the Azores Bullfinch''

* Ramos, J.A. (1998). Biometrics, weights, breeding and moulting seasons of passerines in an Azores cloud forest. ''Ringing and Migration'' 19: 17–23. * Ramos, Jaime A. (March 2000). Azores Bullfinch ''Pyrrhula murina''. ''Bulletin of the African Bird Club'' 7(1)

Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA): Priolo

Centro Priolo - Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA)
* Vester, F., Diamond, A. W., Peterson, R. T. (1989): ''Save the Birds'' –

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

External links

Birding Azores – Azores Bullfinch

ARKive: images and movies of the Azores bullfinch ''(Pyrrhula murina)''

Centropriolo – Conservation website for the Priolo
{{Taxonbar, from=Q786784

Azores bullfinch The Azores bullfinch (''Pyrrhula murina''), also known as the São Miguel bullfinch, or locally in Portuguese as the ''priolo'', is a threatened passerine bird in the true finch family. It is endemic to São Miguel Island, in the Azores archipel ...

Birds of the Azores