Euphonia hirundinacea
The Yellow-throated Euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea) is a captivating small passerine, typically measuring 10-11 cm in length and weighing 9.5-16.5 grams. Males are instantly recognizable by their iridescent blue-black upperparts and a striking, vivid yellow throat, chest, and belly, contrasted by white undertail coverts. Females, exhibiting strong sexual dimorphism, are more subdued with olive-green upperparts and duller yellowish-green underparts. Juveniles resemble females but are even dra...
Found in humid tropical and subtropical forests, forest edges, clearings with scattered trees, secondary growth, coffee plantations, and gardens, typically from lowlands up to 1800 meters, occasionally higher.
Primarily frugivorous, specializing in small fruits, particularly mistletoe berries (Phoradendron spp.) and figs (Ficus spp.), supplemented with small insects and spiders gleaned from foliage.
Yellow-throated Euphonias are diurnal, often observed singly, in pairs, or small family groups, occasionally joining mixed-species foraging flocks. They are agile and active, primarily foraging in the upper and middle canopy. Males sing from prominent perches to establish and defend territories, ...
The Yellow-throated Euphonia has a widespread year-round distribution extending from southeastern Mexico, specifically from Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Chiapas, south through the entirety of Central America. This includes Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. Its ...
Least Concern
- The Yellow-throated Euphonia is a specialized consumer of mistletoe berries, a fruit toxic to many other bird species. - By consuming mistletoe berries, they play a crucial ecological role in dispersing the seeds of these parasitic plants. - While historically sometimes placed with tanagers, cu...