Trinidad: Violaceous Euphonia

Steve Howell described the Euphoias (genus Euphonia) as "small stubby tanagers". Most authorities back then placed the euphonias inThraupidae, the Tanager Family. More recently the euphonia were moved into Fringillidae, the Old World Finchs (see below). Regardless of where they appear in the guidebook that are a delight to see and hear. The Violaceous Euphonia is the only common euphonia in Trinidad. We saw this one at close hand from the veranda at Asa Wright. There are 27 euphonias in all, 3 in Trinidad-Tobago.

The male Violaceous Euphonia is described as "bluish black", but sometimes we get to see the purple hues of the head and back, and even a bit of white in the wing. The deep golden yellow of the forehead and underparts has a dramatic glow. The female, which I don't clearly remember seeing, in olive green on the back and yellow green below. They eat a wide variety of fruits and are essentially non-migratory. As you might guess, they sing with a pleasing voice, which has led to the popularity of euphonias as caged birds.

Some of the changes in the Tanager family included moving our Piranga tanagers (Summer, Scarlet, and Western Tanagers) to the Cardinal Family. For details see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanager

Howell & Webb, Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, 1995.