The Cuban bullfinch (''Melopyrrha nigra'') is a
songbird species of the
genus ''
Melopyrrha''. It is a member of the tanager family
Thraupidae and belongs to the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Coerebinae which also includes the
Darwin's finches.
Distribution and habitat
It is found on and endemic to
Cuba. Its natural
habitats are
subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Description
TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...
, subtropical or tropical moist
montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest. It is considered a
near threatened species by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
.
Taxonomy
The Cuban bullfinch was
formally described by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the
tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae
' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...
'' under the
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Loxia nigra''.
Linnaeus based his short description on
Mark Catesby's "The Little Black Bullfinch" and
Eleazar Albin's "Black Bullfinch ".
[ The type location is Cuba. The specific epithet ''nigra'' is Latin meaning "black". The Cuban bullfinch is now one of three species placed in the genus '' Melopyrrha'' that was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist ]Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte.
Life and career
...
.Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
was once considered a subspecies, but is now considered a full species by IUCN and BirdLife International.
References
External links
Stamp photo
(for Cuba)
Article page
VIREO; ttp://vireo.acnatsci.org/species_image.php?species=Melopyrrha+nigra Photo-(linked at natureserve.org)
Finches
Melopyrrha
Birds described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Endemic birds of Cuba
{{Thraupidae-stub