Bluebill
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The bluebills are the genus Spermophaga of the estrildid finches family. These birds are found in tropical Africa. They are gregarious seed eaters with short, thick, blue and red bills. All have plumage which is mainly crimson and black or dark grey.
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| Bluebills | |
|---|---|
| |
| Western bluebill (Spermophaga haematina) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Estrildidae |
| Genus: | Spermophaga Swainson, 1837 |
| Type species | |
| Spermophaga cyanorynchus Swainson, 1837=Loxia haematina Vieillot, 1807 | |
| Species | |
|
S. poliogenys | |
Taxonomy
The genus Spermophaga was introduced in 1837 by the English zoologist William Swainson to accommodate a single species Spermophaga cyanorhynchus Swainson.[1] This taxon is now treated as a junior synonym of Loxia haematina that had been described by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1807, the western bluebill.[2][3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek σπερμα/sperma, σπερματος/spermatos meaning "seed" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating".[4]
Species
The genus contains three species:[3]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant's bluebill | Spermophaga poliogenys | Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. | |
.jpg) | Western bluebill | Spermophaga haematina | Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. |
.jpg) | Red-headed bluebill | Spermophaga ruficapilla | Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. |
