Lesser Antillean bullfinch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lesser Antillean bullfinch |
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| Male and two females in Dominica | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Loxigilla
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| Species: |
noctis
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| Synonyms | |
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Fringilla noctis (protonym) |
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The Lesser Antillean Bullfinch (scientific name: Loxigilla noctis) is a small bird. It belongs to the tanager family, called Thraupidae.
You can find this bird in many islands of the Caribbean Sea. These islands include Saint Barth, Saint Martin, Anguilla, and Dominica. It also lives in Grenada, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. Other homes are Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. You can also spot it in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Virgin Islands.
These birds like to live in warm, wet forests. They can also be found in dry forests. Sometimes, they even live in areas where forests have been changed by people.
Contents
About the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch
Who Named This Bird?
The Lesser Antillean Bullfinch was first officially described in 1766. A famous Swedish scientist named Carl Linnaeus gave it its first scientific name. He wrote about it in his book, Systema Naturae.
Linnaeus used a special naming system called binomial nomenclature. This means every living thing gets two names. The first name is for its group (genus), and the second is for its specific type (species). For this bird, the first name was Fringilla noctis. The word noctis comes from Latin and means "night."
Today, this bird is placed in a different group, or genus. Its current scientific name is Loxigilla noctis. This new group name was given by René Lesson in 1831.
Different Types of Lesser Antillean Bullfinches
Just like people can have different looks depending on where they live, birds can too. These slightly different groups are called subspecies. There are eight known subspecies of the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch:
- L. n. coryi – Found in the northwest Lesser Antilles.
- L. n. ridgwayi – Lives in the US Virgin Islands and northern Lesser Antilles.
- L. n. desiradensis – Found on La Désirade island.
- L. n. dominicana – Lives in the north-central Lesser Antilles.
- L. n. noctis – Found on the island of Martinique.
- L. n. sclateri – Lives on Saint Lucia.
- L. n. crissalis – Found on Saint Vincent.
- L. n. grenadensis – Lives on Grenada.
The Barbados Bullfinch
For a long time, the Barbados Bullfinch was thought to be a type of Lesser Antillean Bullfinch. But in 2006, scientists decided it was different enough. They gave it its own species status. Now, the Barbados Bullfinch (Loxigilla barbadensis) is considered a separate species.
Gallery
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Male on St. John, USVI
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Male on St. John, USVI
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Female on St. John, USVI
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Female in St. Lucia
