The crimson-breasted finch, or crimson finch, (Rhodospingus cruentus) is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae, the tanagers and allies. It is found in Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Colombia.
Taxonomy and systematics
The crimson-breasted finch was formally described in 1844 by the French naturalist René Lesson under the binomial name Tiaris cruentus. The type locality is Guayaquil in Ecuador. In 1888 the English ornithologist Richard Bowdler Sharpe erected the genus Rhodospingus for cruentis and it remains the only species in the genus. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek rhodon meaning "rose" and spingos meaning "finch". The specific epithet cruentus is the Latin word for "bloody". At the time, Tiaris and Rhodopingus were members of the finch family Fringillidae. Following a 2009 publication, taxonomists moved Rhodospingus to its present tanager family.
The crimson-breasted finch is monotypic.
Description
The crimson-breasted finch is about 11 cm (4.3 in) long and weighs an average of 11.6 g (0.41 oz). It has a short-tailed appearance and a long, slender, relatively straight bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males have a blackish head with a bright red patch in the center of the crown; the patch can be raised as a crest. Their throat is red, intensifying to crimson on the breast and fading to a less intense red on the lower breast and belly. Their vent and undertail coverts are often whitish with a pink wash, and the coverts sometimes have dark centers. In fresh plumage the feathers of the back, nape, and occasionally the face have olive tips. Adult females have a buffy or pale yellowish supercilium and lower face. Their rest of their head and their upperparts, wings, and tail are pale brownish and their underparts buffy or pale yellowish with a brownish wash on the flanks. Immature birds resemble adult females though young males often have an orange wash on the breast. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, a blackish maxilla often with...
