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Scrub Euphonia | Euphonia affinis
Struikorganist | Eufonia garganta negra
The Scrub Euphonia is a small euphonia of dry forest, scrub and semi-open country with trees. The male is blue-black above with a black throat, a small yellow forehead patch and yellow underparts. Since West Mexican Euphonia was recognised as a separate species, it comprises the populations of eastern and southern Mexico to Costa Rica.
Voice
A clear, often repeated whistle of two or three notes, such as pee-pee or dee-dee-dee, and a dry chatter. The song is a rapid, twittering series of dry and whistled notes, which may include imitations of other birds.
Recording: Manuel Grosselet — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
9–10 cm. The male is glossy blue-black above, with a black throat and a small yellow patch on the forehead that reaches no further back than above the eye. Breast, belly and undertail coverts are yellow. The female is olive-green above with a grey crown and nape, yellowish below with a greyish wash. The tail is short.
Confusion species
West Mexican Euphonia Euphonia godmani (Pacific slope of western Mexico) has white undertail coverts in the male. Yellow-throated Euphonia Euphonia hirundinacea and Thick-billed Euphonia Euphonia laniirostris have a yellow throat. The male White-vented Euphonia Euphonia minuta also has a black throat, but has a white lower belly and undertail and lives in humid lowland forest. The male Yellow-crowned Euphonia Euphonia luteicapilla has an entirely yellow crown.
Habitat
Tropical dry forest, seasonal forest, scrub, forest edges and semi-open country with trees, also orchards, plantations, villages and gardens; mainly in the lowlands and foothills, locally up to about 1500 m. It eats mainly mistletoe berries and other small fruits and often forages in the crowns of trees with mistletoe.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation units of Mexico and Central America.
Range and movements
Gulf and Caribbean slope of eastern and south-eastern Mexico, from Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí to the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize and northern Guatemala; Pacific slope of southern Mexico (from Oaxaca) through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to north-western Costa Rica; also in dry interior valleys. Does not occur outside the guide area.
- Resident
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
Easiest to find at mistletoe in scattered trees in dry, semi-open country, for example in the dry forest of Guanacaste in Costa Rica and on the Yucatán Peninsula. The clear whistle is often the first sign of its presence.
Conservation status
Not threatened (LC). Common in dry forest and semi-open country with trees; partly benefits from orchards and gardens.
Scientific name
Euphonia affinis | (Lesson, 1842)
Lesson described the species in 1842 as Tanagra [Euphonia] affinis; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Euphonia was introduced in 1806 by Desmarest, A-G. Euphonia is Greek, from eu 'good' and phōnē 'sound': 'sweet-voiced', after the pleasing calls. affinis is Latin for 'related, allied', after its resemblance to other euphonias. The specimen the first description was based on came from El Realejo, Nicaragua.