Chestnut-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia pectoralis)

Chestnut-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia pectoralis)

Male Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image

Ubatuba, SP, Brazil
July 2002

A member of the Tanager family the Chestnut-bellied Euphonia is found in south east Brazil and is a member of the superspecies that includes the Rufous-bellied Euphonia, E. rufiventris, to the west and the Golden-sided Euphonia, E. cayennensis, to the north.

The male is a shiny steel blue which comes down onto his chest, with a chestnut belly and a yellow patch at the bend of its wing. The female is very different being generally olive on the back and flanks with a grey nape and grey underparts. She has distinctive rufous undertail coverts.

They generally travel in pairs, sometimes in a mixed flock and usually in the canopy.

Female Chestnut-bellied Euphonia, Brazil, July 2002 - click for larger image

It feeds on small fruits the seeds of which pass very quickly through its intestines. This appears to help the seeds germinate but it does not disperse them very far. It also feeds on nectar and insects.

There are illustrations in Isler, Plate 22; Ridgely & Tudor, Plate 14 and Sick, Plate 41.

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