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Summary

The orange-bellied euphonia (Euphonia xanthogaster) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela.

Taxonomy and systematics

The orange-bellied euphonia was originally described in 1834 with the binomial E xanthogaster. At the time, the genus Euphonia was a member of the family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers. Multiple studies in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries resulted in Euphonia being reassigned to its present place in the family Fringillidae.

The orange-bellied euphonia has these 11 subspecies:

E. x. oressinoma Olson, 1981 E. x. chocoensis Hellmayr, 1911 E. x. badissima Olson, 1981 E. x. quitensis (Nelson, 1912) E. x. dilutior (Zimmer, JT, 1943) E. x. cyanonota Parkes, 1969 E. x. brunneifrons Chapman, 1901 E. x. ruficeps d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837 E. x. brevirostris Bonaparte, 1851 E. x. exsul Berlepsch, 1912 E. x. xanthogaster Sundevall, 1834

The orange-bellied euphonia and the tawny-capped euphonia (E. anneae) form a superspecies. The "black-throated euphonia" ("Euphonia vittata") was originally described as a species but is now believed to be a hybrid between the orange-bellied euphonia and the chestnut-bellied euphonia (E. pectoralis).

Description

The orange-bellied euphonia is 9 to 11 cm (3.5 to 4.3 in) long and weighs 9 to 16 g (0.32 to 0.56 oz). It has a thick stubby bill. The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies E. x. xanthogaster have a deep yellow forehead; the patch extends to well beyond the eye. The rest of their head and their nape are glossy blackish. Their upperparts, wing coverts, and flight feathers are glossy blue-black. The upper side of their tail is blue-black and the underside gray with white inner webs on the outer two to three pairs of feathers. Their throat is purplish black. Their underparts are yellow with an inconspicuous ochre tinge on the belly....