Stagonopleura
Beautiful firetail (Stagonopleura bella)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Stagonopleura
Reichenbach, 1850
Type species
Loxia guttata
diamond firetail
Shaw, 1796
Species

S. bella
S. oculata
S. guttata

Stagonopleura is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae that are native to Australia.

The species are similar in appearance, with short red bills, brown upperparts, red rumps and uppertail coverts, and barred or spotted underparts. The informal name of firetails refers to the rich crimson colour at the rump, a prominent characteristic of the genus.[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Stagonopleura was introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1850.[2] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek stagōn meaning "spot" with pleura meaning "side" or "flank".[3] The type species was designated as the diamond firetail in 1851 by Jean Cabanis.[4][5]

Species

The three species in the genus are:[6]

Image Common name Scientific name Distribution
Diamond firetail Stagonopleura guttata eastern Australia from the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, to south-eastern Queensland, often on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range
Beautiful firetail Stagonopleura bella Southeast of Australia; Tasmania
Red-eared firetail Stagonopleura oculata Southwest Australia

References

  1. ^ Forshaw, Joseph Michael; Shephard, Mark (2012). Grassfinches in Australia. CSIRO. pp. 48, 76. ISBN 9780643096349.
  2. ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1850). Avium Systema Naturale (in German). Vol. 1. Dresden and Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. Plate LXXV.
  3. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 364. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  4. ^ Cabanis, Jean (1850–1851). Museum Heineanum : Verzeichniss der ornithologischen Sammlung des Oberamtmann Ferdinand Heine, auf Gut St. Burchard vor Halberstadt (in German and Latin). Vol. 1. Halberstadt: R. Frantz. p. 172.
  5. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 353.
  6. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 12 July 2021.


Categories