''Saltator'' is a
genus of passerine birds in the tanager family
Thraupidae that are found in Central and South America. They have thick bills, relatively long tails and strong legs and feet.
Before the introduction of molecular genetic methods in the 21st century these species were placed in the cardinal family
Cardinalidae.
Taxonomy
The genus was introduced by the French ornithologist
Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1816 with the
buff-throated saltator
The buff-throated saltator (''Saltator maximus'') is a seed-eating bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It breeds from southeastern Mexico to western Ecuador and northeastern Brazil.
The buff-throated saltator is on average long and weighs . ...
as the
type species. The name is from the Latin ''saltator, saltatoris'' meaning "dancer".
The saltators were traditionally grouped with the
cardinals, either in the subfamily Cardinalinae within an expanded
Emberizidae or in a separate family
Cardinalidae. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the saltators are embedded within the tanager family
Thraupidae. Within the Thraupidae the genus ''Saltator'' is now placed with the genus ''
Saltatricula
''Saltatricula'' is a genus of South American seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus ''Saltatricula'' was introduced in 1861 by the German naturalist Hermann Burmeister with the many-colored Chaco ...
'' in 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 ...
Saltatorinae. The relationship of the subfamily to the other subfamilies within the Thraupidae is uncertain.
Species
The genus contains 16 species:
[
The rufous-bellied mountain saltator was formerly a member of this genus. It is now placed in the subfamily Thraupinae and is the only member of the genus '' Pseudosaltator''. Its common name has been changed to rufous-bellied mountain tanager.][ The ]black-throated saltator
The black-throated saltator (''Saltatricula atricollis'') is a species of songbird in the family Thraupidae.
It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and dry savanna
A sava ...
was also formerly assigned to this genus. It is now placed together with the many-colored Chaco finch
The many-colored Chaco finch (''Saltatricula multicolor'') is a songbird found in or near dry woodland in south-central South America in Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay. Evidence suggests it is a finch-like tanager.
Description
''Sal ...
in the genus ''Saltatricula
''Saltatricula'' is a genus of South American seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus ''Saltatricula'' was introduced in 1861 by the German naturalist Hermann Burmeister with the many-colored Chaco ...
'' as the two species form a divergent 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, ...
that is sister to the other members of ''Saltator''.[
]
References
Further reading
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*
*
External links
Saltator videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1049495
Bird genera
Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot