Iridosornis Explained

Iridosornis is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tanager family Thraupidae

These birds live in the Andes mostly at high altitudes. Their plumage is mainly blue and all of them have contrasting patches of yellow.^[1]

Taxonomy and species list

The genus Iridosornis was introduced in 1844 by the French naturalist René Lessonwith the golden-crowned tanager as the type species.^{[2] [3]} The name combines the Ancient Greek iris meaning "rainbow" with ornis meaning "bird".^[4] A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that this genus had a sister relationship to the vermilion tanager which is placed in its own monospecific genus Calochaetes.^[5]

The genus contains five species:^[6]

Notes and References

1. Book: Ridgely . Robert S. . Tudor . Guy . 2009 . Birds of South America: Passerines . Helm Field Guides . London . Christopher Helm . 978-1-408-11342-4 . 605 .
2. Lesson . René . René Lesson . 1844 . Catalogue des oiseaux nouveaux ou peu connus de la collection Abeillé . French . L'Echo du Monde Savant . Part 2 . Col. 80 .
3. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1970 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 13 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 336 .
4. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 207 .
5. Burns . K.J. . Shultz . A.J. . Title . P.O. . Mason . N.A. . Barker . F.K. . Klicka . J. . Lanyon . S.M. . Lovette . I.J. . 2014 . Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75. 41–77 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006 . 24583021 . 2014MolPE..75...41B .
6. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2020 . Tanagers and allies . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 3 November 2020 .