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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Perching Birds (Order Passeriformes)

-Finches, Euphonias, and Allies (Family Fringillidae)

-Typical Euphonias (Genus Euphonia)

-West Mexican Euphonia (Euphonia godmani)


The West Mexican Euphonia (Euphonia affinis) is a medium-sized songbird found in tropical forests of western Mexico. It prefers moist, heavily vegetated habitats, ranging from lowland chaparral to mid-elevation oak forests. Its diet consists mainly of insects, fruits, and nectar. It is a very active species, often seen hopping from branch to branch.

West Mexican Euphonia - Male

Euphonia godmani

Diet

  • Primarily small fruits and berries, especially mistletoe berries and other soft fruits.

  • Also feeds on figs, nectar, flower buds, and occasionally small insects and spiders.

  • Usually forages high in the forest canopy, often in pairs or small flocks.

Range

  • Endemic to western Mexico, occurring from southern Sonora south along the Pacific slope through Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, and western Oaxaca.

  • Occurs in the Zihuatanejo region, where it is an uncommon to fairly common year-round resident.

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, semi-deciduous forests, woodland edges, gallery forests, second-growth, and shaded plantations, generally from sea level to about 1,800 m.

Male / Female

  • Male: Bright golden-yellow forehead, crown, throat, breast, and underparts; glossy blue-black upperparts; a distinctive white patch on the inner wing visible in flight.

  • Female: Olive-green upperparts with yellowish-green underparts; lacks the male's brilliant yellow crown and contrasting blue-black back.

  • The sexes are easily distinguished by their markedly different plumage.

Size

  • Length: 10–11 cm (3.9–4.3 in)

  • Wingspan: 16–18 cm (6.3–7.1 in)

  • Weight: 11–14 g

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