Golden-winged grosbeak
Encyclopedia
The genus
Rhynchostruthus is a small group of finch
es in the family
Fringillinae. Commonly known as golden-winged grosbeaks, they are attractive, chunky, medium-sized, robust-billed songbird
s restricted to the southern Arabian and northern Somalia
n regions.
These elusive birds are typically found between 1,060 and 2,800 metres ASL
in forested wadi
s and areas of scrub. The fruits of juniper
s, acacia
s and spurge
s appear to form the bulk of their diet.
s - e.g. Mycerobas
- but its song and calls are reminiscent of European Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis, European Greenfinch
C. chloris, and Yemen Linnet
C. yemenensis. Also it has been observed performing a greenfinch-like slow-winged display flight which suggests its true affinities may lie within the genus Carduelis
. Altogether, Rhynchostruthus seems to belong to a group of Carduelinae
which includes such birds as Carduelis
, the Oriole Finch
(Linurgus olivaceus), and the canaries, many of which have large amounts of brilliant yellow plumage. But the exact placement of the golden-winged grosbeaks is not very well resolved. What seems certain is that Rhynchostruthus is not very closely related to any other of the birds commonly referred to as "grosbeak
s".
The genus used to contain a single species, Rhynchostruthus socotranus. But more recently this is often split in three:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Rhynchostruthus is a small group of finch
Finch
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...
es in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Fringillinae. Commonly known as golden-winged grosbeaks, they are attractive, chunky, medium-sized, robust-billed songbird
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
s restricted to the southern Arabian and northern Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
n regions.
These elusive birds are typically found between 1,060 and 2,800 metres ASL
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
in forested wadi
Wadi
Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...
s and areas of scrub. The fruits of juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
s, acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
s and spurge
Spurge
Euphorbia is a genus of plants belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae. Consisting of 2008 species, Euphorbia is one of the most diverse genera in the plant kingdom, exceeded possibly only by Senecio. Members of the family and genus are sometimes referred to as Spurges...
s appear to form the bulk of their diet.
Description
These birds have slight sexual dichromatism. Males are grey-brown overall with a black bill, dark mask, white cheeks, and large, bright yellow patches on the wings and tail. The extent of the dark head-pattern and white cheek-patches varies considerably between taxa. The females are similar to the males though somewhat duller, and the juveniles are rather streaky and lack the adults' distinctive head pattern.Systematics
The large bill suggests a relationship with the Asian grosbeakGrosbeak
Grosbeak is a form taxon containing several species of seed-eating passerine birds with large beaks. Although they all belong to the superfamily Passeroidea, they are not a natural group but rather a polyphyletic assemblage of distantly related songbirds....
s - e.g. Mycerobas
Mycerobas
The Mycerobas grosbeaks are a genus of finch in the Fringillidae family. They are colorful finches and are the largest species in the family.The genus contains the following species:* Collared Grosbeak...
- but its song and calls are reminiscent of European Goldfinch
European Goldfinch
The European Goldfinch or Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family.-Habitat and range:The goldfinch breeds across Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia, in open, partially wooded lowlands. It is resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions...
Carduelis carduelis, European Greenfinch
European Greenfinch
The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The genus Carduelis might be split up and in this case, the greenfinches would be separated in their old genus Chloris again.This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north...
C. chloris, and Yemen Linnet
Yemen Linnet
The Yemen Linnet is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family.It is found in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.-References:...
C. yemenensis. Also it has been observed performing a greenfinch-like slow-winged display flight which suggests its true affinities may lie within the genus Carduelis
Carduelis
The genus Carduelisis a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. It includes the greenfinches, redpolls, goldfinches, linnets, the twite, and the non-African siskins...
. Altogether, Rhynchostruthus seems to belong to a group of Carduelinae
Carduelinae
The cardueline finches are a subfamily, Carduelinae, one of at least three subfamilies of the finch family Fringillidae, the others being the Fringillinae and the Euphoniinae. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are usually considered another subfamily, Drepanidinae, but they may be cardueline finches as well...
which includes such birds as Carduelis
Carduelis
The genus Carduelisis a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. It includes the greenfinches, redpolls, goldfinches, linnets, the twite, and the non-African siskins...
, the Oriole Finch
Oriole Finch
The Oriole Finch is species of bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It was classified as monotypic in the genus Linurgus, but now it has been found by molecular phylogeny that it belongs to Genus Serinus. It has a black head and yellow body...
(Linurgus olivaceus), and the canaries, many of which have large amounts of brilliant yellow plumage. But the exact placement of the golden-winged grosbeaks is not very well resolved. What seems certain is that Rhynchostruthus is not very closely related to any other of the birds commonly referred to as "grosbeak
Grosbeak
Grosbeak is a form taxon containing several species of seed-eating passerine birds with large beaks. Although they all belong to the superfamily Passeroidea, they are not a natural group but rather a polyphyletic assemblage of distantly related songbirds....
s".
The genus used to contain a single species, Rhynchostruthus socotranus. But more recently this is often split in three:
- Socotra GrosbeakSocotra GrosbeakThe Socotra Grosbeak or Socotra Golden-winged Grosbeak is a finch endemic to Socotra, an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Yemen. R. socotranus is by some authorities held to be the only species of the then-monotypic genus Rhynchostruthus, including all other golden-winged grosbeaks...
, Rhynchostruthus socotranus - Arabian GrosbeakArabian GrosbeakThe Arabian Grosbeak or Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak is a finch found in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen. It is included as a subspecies in R...
, Rhynchostruthus percivali - Somali GrosbeakSomali GrosbeakThe Somali Grosbeak or Somali Golden-winged Grosbeak is a finch endemic to northern Somalia. It is included as a subspecies in R...
, Rhynchostruthus louisae
External links
- Socotra Grosbeak photographs. Retrieved 2008-MAY-27.