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Parrotfinches
Red-throated parrotfinch (Erythrura psittacea)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Estrildidae
Genus:	Erythrura Swainson, 1837
Type species
Erythura viridis = Loxia prasina Swainson, 1837
Species
See text

Parrotfinches are small, colourful passerine birds belonging to the genus Erythrura in the family Estrildidae, the estrildid finches. They occur from South-east Asia to New Guinea, and many Pacific Islands. They inhabit forest, bamboo thickets and grassland and some can be found in man-made habitats such as farmland, parks and gardens. Several species are commonly kept as cagebirds.

They are 9 to 15 cm long. The plumage is usually mainly green. Most species have blue or red markings on the head and a red rump and tail. The tail is pointed and often fairly long.

Seeds, especially those of grasses, comprise the bulk of the diet. Some parrotfinches also feed on fruit and small insects. Many species forage in flocks, keeping in contact with high-pitched calls.

Three species, the green-faced, royal and pink-billed parrotfinches, are classed as vulnerable to extinction because of habitat loss and degradation.

Taxonomy

The genus Erythrura was introduced in 1837 by the English naturalist William Swainson to accommodate the pin-tailed parrotfinch. Swainson misspelled the genus name as "Erythura". The name combines the Ancient Greek eruthros meaning "red" with -ouros meaning "-tailed". The genus Erythrura is sister to the Gouldian finch which is placed in its own genus Chloebia and together the two genera form the subfamily Erythrurinae.

The cladogram shown below is based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the Erythrura parrotfinches published in 2023. The Papuan parrotfinch (E. papuana) was found to embedded within the broadly distributed blue-faced parrotfinch (E. trichroa).

Species

The genus contains 12 species.

Image	Scientific name	Common Name	Distribution
	Pin-tailed parrotfinch	Erythrura prasina	Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and China
	Green-faced parrotfinch	Erythrura viridifacies	northern Philippines, around Luzon, Negros and Panay
	Tawny-breasted parrotfinch or green-tailed parrotfinch	Erythrura hyperythra	Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines
	Red-throated parrotfinch	Erythrura psittacea	New Caledonia
	Fiji parrotfinch (split from red-headed parrotfinch)	Erythrura pealii	Fiji (Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and Kadavu)
	Royal parrotfinch (split from red-headed parrotfinch)	Erythrura regia	Vanuatu
	Red-headed parrotfinch	Erythrura cyaneovirens	Samoan Islands
	Pink-billed parrotfinch	Erythrura kleinschmidti	Viti Levu, Fiji
	Tricolored parrotfinch or three-coloured parrotfinch	Erythrura tricolor	Timor and the southern Moluccas
	Red-eared parrotfinch or Mount Katanglad parrotfinch	Erythrura coloria	Mindanao in the Philippines
	Papuan parrotfinch	Erythrura papuana	New Guinea
	Blue-faced parrotfinch	Erythrura trichroa	north-eastern Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Federated States of Micronesia, France (introduced), New Caledonia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu

References

1. "Estrildidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
2. Swainson, William John (1837). On the Natural History and Classification of Birds. Vol. 2. London: John Taylor. p. 280.
3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 362.
4. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
5. Olsson, Urban; Alström, Per (2020). "A comprehensive phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the waxbills (Aves: Estrildidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 146: 106757. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106757.
6. DeCicco, L.H.; DeRaad, D.A.; Ostrow, E.N.; Moyle, R.G. (2023). "A complete species-level phylogeny of the Erythrura parrotfinches (Aves: Estrildidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution: 107883. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107883.
7. 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.

External links

• Media related to Erythrura at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Erythrura at Wikispecies

• Erythrura