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White-vented Euphonia Euphonia minuta Scientific name definitions

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

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Introduction

One of the most widespread of its genus, the White-vented Euphonia is found in tropical forest, including seasonally flooded areas, from Mexico south to Bolivia; in South America, it is mainly found east of the Andes. The White-vented Euphonia is mainly a canopy species, although it does occasionally venture into semi-open areas. Like a great many euphonias, the male is mainly blue-black above with a small yellow forehead patch, which reaches to just in front of the eye, and a blackish throat, with the rest of the underparts yellow, except the white lower belly and undertail coverts. Females are olive above, with a grayish-white throat, olive-yellow breast band and flanks, and whitish ventral region.

Field Identification

9 cm; 7·9–11·5 g. Very small, compact euphonia with distinctive white undertail-coverts, and short, thick bill. Male nominate race has small bright yellow patch on forehead (not extending back to eye); rest of head down to foreneck, and upperparts, including uppertail and upperwing-coverts, glossy blue-black, head and nape glossed purplish; flight-feathers dusky, edged dark blue; breast and belly bright yellow, sometimes with a little dusky mottling on flanks; middle belly and undertail-coverts white, underwing-coverts white; inner webs of outer three pairs of tail feathers white (forming large oval-shaped white patch on each side of undersurface); iris dark brown; bill black, basal two-thirds of lower mandible blue-grey; legs dark grey. Female has head and upperparts, including wings and tail, olive; throat dingy greyish-white, chest, upper breast, sides and flanks olive-yellow, centre of lower breast, belly and undertail-coverts white (appearance of broad diffuse breastband). Juvenile resembles female, but duller. Race humilis male differs from nominate in having yellow forehead patch larger, and chest and upper breast slightly darker, richer yellow.

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.

Prior name E. olivacea, dating from 1806, formally suppressed (1). The two races are so similar that species may be better treated as monotypic. Two subspecies tentatively recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Euphonia minuta humilis Scientific name definitions

Euphonia minuta humilis
E. m. humilis

Distribution

extreme SE Mexico (Bonampak, in Chiapas) very locally E to C Guatemala and S Belize and N Honduras, and S on Caribbean slope from E Nicaragua to Panama, and on Pacific slope from SW Costa Rica E to Panama (Veraguas), N base of Andes in Colombia (E to C Magdalena Valley) and S on entire Pacific coast to NW Ecuador (to S Pichincha).
SUBSPECIES

Euphonia minuta minuta Scientific name definitions

Euphonia minuta minuta
E. m. minuta +1

Distribution

E base of Venezuelan Andes (in Táchira) and SE Colombia (from Meta and Vaupés) S through Ecuador and Peru to C Bolivia (Santa Cruz), and generally E across S and E Venezuela, the Guianas, and Amazonian Brazil (E to mouth of R Amazon, and S to C Pará and C Mato Grosso).

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 lowland tropical forest, along forest borders, less frequently in canopy of large trees in clearings adjacent to tall forest. Most numerous in lowlands up to c. 500 m, although recorded to 1500 m in Costa Rica; to 1000 m locally in Colombia, 700 m in W Ecuador and c. 1000 m in Peru.

Movement

Mainly resident. Some early wet-season (Jun) wandering to higher elevations reported in Costa Rica; in W Colombia, upslope movement (to 1050 m) in R Anchicayá Valley in Jun–Aug.

Diet and Foraging

Feeds heavily on mistletoe berries (Loranthaceae); also small fruits, and insects. Seen singly, in pairs, and sometimes in varying-sized groups that may be composed mostly of males or female-plumaged birds, groups tending to wander over large areas and usually staying in forest canopy. Spends long periods of time in or near clumps of mistletoe, sometimes in association with other members of genus; also regularly follows mixed-species flocks in canopy, where it takes small fruits and searches for insects by hopping or sidling along, or executing “about-face” turns as it hops, especially, along bare, thin twigs, mostly on outer branches. Has habit of frequently wagging partly spread tail to one side.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

One of commonest calls is a sharp “veet”, also a sputtery “wee-chu”. Song surprisingly loud and forceful for so small a bird, a shrill series of sharp and staccato notes, “tu, véévéét, ch-véét, cheewit, chewit, ...véét...ch-véét, tsik, veéé, vic-squik, squik-squik, veéé...” and so on; louder “véét” and “veéé” notes are characteristic of almost all songs, even though song patterns may vary. Both sexes call frequently when nest-building.

Breeding

Breeding reported in Feb–Jul in Costa Rica; two broods sometimes attempted. Nest much like that of congeners, globular with small circular side entrance, composed mostly of green moss, small ferns and orchid roots, lined with fine, pale-coloured plant fibres, located 3–18 m up amid mosses and other epiphytes on large branch of canopy tree. Clutch 3–5 eggs, white, heavily spotted and blotched with brown. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Widespread and fairly common across Amazonia; local and uncommon in N of range (Central America), e.g. scarce and often irregular in Panama. Populations (mainly Caribbean) in Central America and on Pacific slope in SW Costa Rica and adjacent SW Panama much less numerous and now local, e.g. there appear to be no recent lowland records from heavily deforested lowlands of W Panama; elsewhere in Panama the species is scarce and often irregular in occurrence. Extensive deforestation in portions of NW Colombia suggest that populations there are now fragmented and in decline, and all populations W of Andes are worthy of investigation. Found in numerous protected areas in Amazonia, and faces no serious threats in this region.
Distribution of the White-vented Euphonia - Range Map
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Distribution of the White-vented Euphonia

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Hilty, S. (2020). White-vented Euphonia (Euphonia minuta), 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.whveup1.01
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