Bullfinch is a name given to two groups 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 th ...

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 lightweig ...

True bullfinches

The true bullfinches are thick-billed

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 ...

es in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus ''

Pyrrhula Pyrrhula is a small genus of passerine birds, commonly called bullfinches, belonging to the finch family (Fringillidae). The genus has a Palearctic distribution; almost all species occur in Asia, with two species exclusively in the Himalayas and ...

''. These birds are restricted to the Old World, and they include the following: * Eurasian bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula pyrrhula'' * Brown bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula nipalensis'' * White-cheeked bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula leucogenis'' * Orange bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula aurantiaca'' * Red-headed bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula erythrocephala'' * Grey-headed bullfinch, ''Pyrrhula erythaca'' *

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 archip ...

, ''Pyrrhula murina''

New World tanagers

There is an unrelated group of New World birds also named as bullfinches because of their superficial resemblances to the above species. These passerines were placed in the large bunting and American "sparrow" family

Emberizidae The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills. Taxonomy The family Emberizid ...

, but are now considered

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

s (Thraupidae). Four are in the genus ''

Loxigilla ''Loxigilla'' is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. The two species are both endemic to the Lesser Antilles. Taxonomy The genus ''Loxigilla'' was introduced in 1831 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The type specie ...

'': *

Puerto Rican bullfinch The Puerto Rican bullfinch (''Melopyrrha portoricensis'') is a small bullfinch tanager endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. The species can be commonly found in heavy forests throughout Puerto Rico, except on the easternmost tip of the isl ...

, ''Loxigilla portoricensis'' *

Greater Antillean bullfinch The Greater Antillean bullfinch (''Melopyrrha violacea'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. Distribution and habitat It is found in the Bahamas, Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as well as surrounding islands), Jamaica, ...

, ''Loxigilla violacea'' *

Lesser Antillean bullfinch The lesser Antillean bullfinch (''Loxigilla noctis'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is found in Saint Barth, Saint Martin (island), Saint Martin, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montser ...

, ''Loxigilla noctis'' *

Barbados bullfinch The Barbados bullfinch (''Loxigilla barbadensis'') is a seedeater bird that is found only on the Caribbean island-nation of Barbados, where it is the only endemic bird species. Taxonomy The Barbados bullfinch was previously considered a subspe ...

, ''Loxigilla barbadensis'' In the genus ''

Melopyrrha ''Melopyrrha'' is a genus of passerine birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is made up of four extant species endemic to the Greater Antilles, along with 1 possibly extinct species from the island of Saint Kitts in the Lesser Antilles. Tax ...

:'' *

Cuban bullfinch 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 Coerebinae which also includes the Darwin's finches. Distribution and habit ...

, ''Melopyrrha nigra''

References

External links

Bullfinch videos, photos and sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection {{Animal common name Pyrrhula Loxigilla Birds by common name