Yellow-browed seedeater explained

The yellow-browed seedeater (Crithagra whytii) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Malawi, Tanzania, and Zambia.

The yellow-browed seedeater was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences found that the genus was polyphyletic.^[1] The genus was therefore split and a number of species including the yellow-browed seedeater were moved to the resurrected genus Crithagra.^{[2] [3]}

Since 2012 the IUCN has treated this taxon as a subspecies of Crithagra striolata.

Notes and References

1. 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.
2. Web site: Gill . Frank . Donsker . David . Finches, euphonias . World Bird List Version 5.2. International Ornithologists' Union. 5 June 2015 .
3. Swainson . William . William John Swainson . 1827 . On several forms in ornithology not hitherto defined . Zoological Journal . 3 . 348 .