Reichard's seedeater explained

Reichard's seedeater (Crithagra reichardi) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae.It is native to the miombo savanna (mainly Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania).It is named after the German explorer Paul Reichard.^[1]

Reichard's seedeater was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic.^[2] The genus was therefore split and a number of species including Reichard's seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.^{[3] [4]} The stripe-breasted seedeater (C. striatipectus) was formerly conspecific, but was split as a distinct species by the IOC in 2021.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Book: Beolens, Bo. Whose Birds? Men and Women Commemorated in the Common Names of Birds. 2003. Christopher Helm. London. 282. Watkins, Michael .
2. Zuccon . Dario . Prŷs-Jones . Robert . Rasmussen . Pamela C. . Ericson . Per G.P. . 2012 . The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 62 . 2 . 581–596 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.10.002 . 22023825.
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Donsker . David . Finches, euphonias . World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. 5 June 2015 .
4. Swainson . William . William John Swainson . 1827 . On several forms in ornithology not hitherto defined . Zoological Journal . 3 . 348 .
5. Web site: Species Updates – IOC World Bird List. 2021-06-13. en-US.