Sicalis is a genus of birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. Sometimes classified in the bunting and American sparrow family Emberizidae, more recent studies have shown it to belong in the Thraupidae.
Taxonomy and species list
The genus Sicalis was introduced in 1828 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie. The name is from the Ancient Greek σικαλίς/sikalis, a small, black-headed bird, mentioned by Epicharmus, Aristotle, and other authors. It was perhaps a warbler in the genus Sylvia. The type species is the saffron finch. The genus now contains 13 species.
Image
Scientific name
Common name
Distribution
Sicalis citrina
Stripe-tailed yellow finch
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela
Sicalis taczanowskii
Sulphur-throated finch
Ecuador and Peru
Sicalis uropigyalis
Bright-rumped yellow finch
the Altiplano of Peru, Bolivia and northern Chile and Argentina
Sicalis flaveola
Saffron finch
Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago
Sicalis columbiana
Orange-fronted yellow finch
Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela
Sicalis luteola
Grassland yellow finch
Colombia south and east to the Guianas and central Ecuador, Peru and Brazil. Birds which breed further south in Argentina and Uruguay migrate to Bolivia and southern Brazil in the austral winter. There are also isolated populations in Central America and Mexico
Sicalis luteocephala
Citron-headed yellow finch
Andes of Bolivia and far northern Argentina
Sicalis lebruni
Patagonian yellow finch
Argentina and Tierra del Fuego; also Chile.
Sicalis olivascens
Greenish yellow finch
the Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru
Sicalis mendozae
Monte yellow finch
western Argentina.
Sicalis auriventris
Greater yellow finch
Argentina and Chile
Sicalis raimondii
Raimondi's yellow finch
Peru
Sicalis lutea
Puna yellow finch
Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru