Pyrrhula is a small genus of

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 ...

birds, commonly called bullfinches, belonging to the finch family (

Fringillidae 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 ...

). The genus has a

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

distribution; almost all species occur in Asia, with two species exclusively in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

and one species, ''P. pyrrhula'', also occurring in Europe. The

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 ...

(''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 ) , 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 ...

. Analysis of the

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

cytochrome ''b''

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

indicates that the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...

pine grosbeak The pine grosbeak (''Pinicola enucleator'') is a large member of the true finch family (biology), family, Fringillidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Pinicola''. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the ...

(''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. The

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

of the bullfinch species started soon after the pine grosbeak's ancestors diverged from them (at the end of the Middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, about 12 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 finch The mountain finches are birds in the genus ''Leucosticte'' from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage. The genus is a sister group, sister to the Monotypic taxon, monoty ...

es also seem to be part of this

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

. 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 The brown bullfinch (''Pyrrhula nipalensis'') is a species of bird in the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are temperate forest an ...

, 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.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Pyrrhula'' was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist

Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher. Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...

. The name was derived by

tautonymy A tautonym is a scientific name of a species in which both parts of the name have the same spelling, such as ''Rattus rattus''. The first part of the name is the name of the genus and the second part is referred to as the ''specific epithet'' in ...

from 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 ...

of the Eurasian bullfinch ''Loxia pyrrhula'' introduced by

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1758. The bullfinches in the genus ''Pyrrhula'' are

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

to the

, the only species placed in the genus ''

Pinicola The pine grosbeak (''Pinicola enucleator'') is a large member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Pinicola''. It is found in coniferous woods across Alaska, the western mountains of the United States, Can ...

''.

Species

There are eight extant and one extinct recognized species in the genus: * †

Greater Azores bullfinch The greater Azores bullfinch (''Pyrrhula crassa'') was a large, extinct species of bullfinch in the family Fringillidae that was once endemic to the Azores. It is the first known extinct passerine to be described from the islands. It is the larg ...

''Pyrrhula crassa''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q843173 Bird genera Palearctic fauna