Explore Taxonomy
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Fringillidae
Genus
Euphonia
Surprise Me
Previous Olive-backed Euphonia
Next Tawny-capped Euphonia
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
© Tyler Ficker
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
+3
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
Watch
- Fulvous-vented Euphonia
Listen

Fulvous-vented Euphonia Euphonia fulvicrissa Scientific name definitions

Steven Hilty
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2011

Sign in to see your badges

Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Introduction

Both sexes of the Fulvous-vented Euphonia are distinguished from other species of euphonia in their range by the tawny undertail coverts and center to the belly. Otherwise the male is a typical species of Euphonia, with a glossy purple head and chest, deep glossy blue back, and yellow forecrown and underparts.; the female is mostly olive, with a rufous forecrown. The most frequently heard vocalization of this species is a somewhat grating, double noted call. The Fulvous-vented Euphonia occurs in lowland humid forest and borders, secondary forest and regenerating clearings from eastern Panama south extreme northwestern Ecuador.

Field Identification

9 cm; 10·1–13 g. Rather small euphonia with tawny-rufous undertail-coverts. Male nominate race has small lemon-yellow patch on forehead extending back to just above eye; rest of head, throat to central chest and upperparts, including upperwing-coverts, glossy blue-black; flight-feathers dusky, tinged blue black; uppertail blue-black with slight gloss; breast, sides and flanks bright golden-yellow, median underparts cinnamon-yellow, vent and undertail-coverts yellowish-cinnamon; undertail dark grey, inner webs of outer two feather pairs mostly white, forming large, somewhat oval-shaped white patch on each side; iris dark brown; upper mandible and tip of lower mandible dusky blackish, rest of lower mandible blue-grey; legs dark grey. Female has small rufous patch on forecrown; hindcrown, nape and upper back bronzy olive-green with faint greyish gloss, lower back, rump and tail yellowish-olive; flight-feathers dusky, edged olive-yellow; underparts olive-yellow, brightest on sides; centre of belly and undertail-coverts contrastingly tawny-rufous. Juvenile apparently undescribed. Race omissa differs from nominate in having white ovals on underside of tail less extensive; purpurascens differs in having upperparts and uppertail with purplish gloss, no white on undertail.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Euphonia fulvicrissa fulvicrissa Scientific name definitions

Euphonia fulvicrissa fulvicrissa
E. f. fulvicrissa +1

Distribution

C Panama (from Coclé and Colón on Caribbean side and Panamá Province on Pacific side) E to W Colombia (N Chocó).
SUBSPECIES

Euphonia fulvicrissa omissa Scientific name definitions

Distribution

N base of Colombian Andes from Antioquia E to NW end of E Andes in Norte de Santander (including Sinú Valley, lower Cauca Valley and middle Magdalena Valley) and Pacific coast S to Cauca.
SUBSPECIES

Euphonia fulvicrissa purpurascens Scientific name definitions

Euphonia fulvicrissa purpurascens
E. f. purpurascens

Distribution

SW Colombia (Nariño) S to NW Ecuador (Esmeraldas, Manabí and NW Pichincha).

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Humid and wet forest, forest borders, and shrubby or overgrown clearings and second-growth woodland. In Panama occurs in humid lowland and foothill sites, in decreasing numbers to c. 900 m; in Colombia up to 1000 m (most records below 500 m).

Movement

Resident. Minor elevational movement (seasonal or wandering individuals) possible, but documentation required.

Diet and Foraging

Typically feeds on small fruits, less than 5 mm in diameter; also reported as taking arthropods. In Panama, known to eat catkins of Piper and Cecropia and fruits of Lantana, Hamelia, mistletoe (Loranthaceae), and Lindackeria. Occurs singly, in pairs and in small groups, and is regularly associated with mixed-species flocks. Commonly forages in upper levels of trees, but also regularly decends much lower to shrubs and small fruiting trees along forest borders and in clearings. On Barro Colorado (Panama), most records of foraging were at 10–25 m above ground level.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Commonest call a chattery rattle, “d’e’e’e’h, d’e’e’e’h”, occasionally a single “d’e’e’e’h” or up to three rattles in a row (in Panama, “Ren-ren” an onomatopoeic local name for species based on this call). Also gives a rising whistle, “wheet”, and doubled “wheet-wheet”, sometimes every few seconds. Song, in Colombia, consists of 1–3 soft, chattery rattles followed by 1–2 short, complex and squeaky phrases that rise in pitch, e.g. “du, d’u’u’u-d’u’u’u spze’e’t’tic, spze’e’t’tic...du’u, d’u’u’u-d’u’u’u’ spze’e’t’tic...” and so on, continuing for up to a minute or more.

Breeding

In Colombia, 13 birds in breeding condition in Jan–Jul in N and two others in Apr in Antioquia. Covered nest with side entrance, like that of congeners; male and female building nest of fibrous material in thick hanging moss 12 m up in tree. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Fairly common to common over most of range. Occurs in numerous protected areas, including Metropolitan, Soberanía, Chagres and Darién ­National Parks (Panama) and Los Katíos, Tatamá and Utría National Parks and privately held Reserva Natural El Paujíl (Colombia); possibly in Sanquianga National Park, in SW Colombia. This species occurs also in a variety of second-growth and forest-edge habitats, much of which, though unprotected, is likely to persist at least for the short term, despite ongoing forest clearance.
Distribution of the Fulvous-vented Euphonia - Range Map
Enlarge
  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Fulvous-vented Euphonia

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Hilty, S. (2020). Fulvous-vented Euphonia (Euphonia fulvicrissa), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.fuveup1.01
Birds of the World

Partnerships

A global alliance of nature organizations working to document the natural history of all bird species at an unprecedented scale.

American Ornithological Society American Ornithilogical Society Armonia Bolivia Aves Argentinas Avibase Aves Uruguay Birds Caribbean Bird Count India Conservación de Islas Corbidi Fundación Ñankulafkén Instituto Humboldt Lynx Edicions Oikonos Oriental Bird Club Ornithological Society Of The Middle East The Caucasus And Central Asia RED DE OBSERVADORES DE AVES Y VIDA SILVESTRE DE CHILE Roberts Birds Save Brasil Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute Union Venezolana De Ornitologos