THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

226 A Docent Field Guide to the Species of the Steinhart Aquarium
Remarks: The species is quite vocal and social.
Pairs or groups participate in noisy singing and
chattering, though the song is not particularly
musical.
As fruit-eaters, these birds play an important
role in seed dispersal for trees and shrubs in
the tropics.
Like many small tropical birds, they are preyed
upon by cats, both wild and domestic, snakes,
and birds of prey.
Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola (Thraupidae)
Distribution: Common in the South American
tropics of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru,
Brazil, and Argentina.
Habitat: Open and semi-open forests and fields
from lowland areas to 1850 m. Prefer drier areas;
generally reside outside the Amazon basin.
Appearance: Forehead and crown bright
orange. Yellow head, greenish-yellow mantle
and back, bright yellow underparts. Female
duller above and lighter below. Bill brownishgrey,
legs pink.
Diet: Forage in pairs or larger groups for seeds,
insects, and plant matter.
Reproduction: Nest in tree hollows, though
use nesting boxes in captivity. Female lays 3–4
white eggs; incubation, 12–14 days. Female
incubates the eggs, male guards the nest. After
eggs hatch, both parents feed the young, and
fledging takes place in about 2 weeks.
Remarks: Saffron finches are a favorite caged
bird because of their handsome colors and
pleasant song.
Violaceous Euphonia
Euphonia violacea (Fringillidae)
Distribution: Trinidad and eastern Venezuela
south to Argentina.
Habitat: Forests, including second growth and
plantations.
Appearance: A very small, tit-sized bird. Males
are glossy blue-black on head and back, with
contrasting yellow forehead, breast and belly.
Females are green above, yellow-green below.
Diet: Specialized small fruit and berry eaters,
and particularly feed on mistletoe berries which
their digestive tracks can manage without
activating the toxins. They often move and eat
in mixed flocks with other small fruit eaters.
Reproduction: The female incubates 3–4 white
eggs blotched with red in a ball nest formed in
a cavity of a stump, bank or tree.
Remarks: These are highly social birds, moving
in mixed flocks of other birds. The mixed flocks
provide some defensive safety with different
levels of alertness to predators.
As specialists on mistletoe and some other
toxic berries, Euphonias have weak, digestive
systems adapted to removing the flesh of the
mistletoe berries without disturbing the toxic
viscin layer surrounding each seed. Within
ten minutes they can excrete the sticky strings
of seeds by vigorous rear end movements,
scraping them onto twigs and branches where
the seeds have a chance to fall and germinate—
good for the bird and good for the seeds!
Yellow-green Grosbeak
Caryothraustes canadensis (Cardinalidae)
Distribution: Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana,
Panama, Suriname, and Venezuela.
Habitat: Tropical to subtropical moist lowland
forest; also found on heavily degraded forest
lands as well as suburban and cultivated areas
up to 1000 m.
Appearance: Male: olive yellow with black face,
with the back less bright than crown and nape.
Female: similar to male, except slightly duller;
crown and nape are similar in color to the back.
Diet: Mostly seed eaters, well equipped for
this diet by their heavy bills. Also eat insects
and occasional vegetable matter. Forage from
medium heights to treetops, often in flocks.
Remarks: Some birds commonly called
“grosbeaks” and “tanagers,” such as the
Yellow-green Grosbeak and the local Blackheaded
Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)
and Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana) are
now classified as members of the Cardinal
family.
Banaquit
Coereba flaveola (Coerebidae)
Bananaquits
Distribution: Widespread in Central and South
America, from southeast Mexico to northern
Argentina, and in the West Indies.
Habitat: Flourishes in different habitats that
provide vegetation and flowers for food:
canopy, forest edges, open second growth and