Grosbeak is a form taxon containing various species of seed-eating passerine birds with large . Although they all belong to the Taxonomic rank Passeroidea, these birds are not part of a natural group but rather a polyphyletic assemblage of distantly related .[Campbell & Lack (1985), p. 256.] Some are in the family Fringillidae, while others are cardinals in the family Cardinalidae; one is a member of the weaver family Ploceidae.[Campbell & Lack (1995), p. 79.] The word "grosbeak", first applied in the late 1670s, is a partial translation of the French grosbec, where gros means "large" and bec means "beak".
The following is a list of grosbeak species, arranged in groups of closely related genera. These genera are more closely related to smaller-billed birds than to other grosbeaks. Exceptions are the three genera of "typical grosbeak finches", which form a group of closest living relatives and might thus be considered the "true" grosbeaks.
Grosbeak finches
The finch family (
Fringillidae) contains 13 living species named "grosbeak", which are all part of the large
subfamily Carduelinae:
Typical grosbeak finches
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The two Nearctic species in the genus Hesperiphona (formerly in Coccothraustes):
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The two species in the East Asian genus Eophona:
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Japanese grosbeak, E. personata
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Chinese grosbeak or yellow-billed grosbeak, E. migratoria
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The four species in the South Asian genus Mycerobas:
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Black-and-yellow grosbeak, M. icterioides
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Collared grosbeak, M. affinis
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Spot-winged grosbeak, M. melanozanthos
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White-winged grosbeak, M. carnipes
Grosbeak bullfinch
Grosbeak goldfinches
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The three golden-winged grosbeaks in the genus Rhynchostruthus, found in Somaliland, mountains of south-west Arabia and on the island of Socotra and often considered a single species:
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Somali golden-winged grosbeak, R. louisae
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Arabian golden-winged grosbeak, R. percivali ( Chloridops kona)]]
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Socotra golden-winged grosbeak, R. socotranus
Genus Crithagra
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Two species in the genus Crithagra are named "grosbeak-canaries" and one is called a grosbeak:
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The São Tomé grosbeak, Crithagra concolor (formerly Neospiza concolor), a critically endangered restricted-range endemic found only in forests on the island of São Tomé off the coast, believed extinct until rediscovered in 1991
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The northern grosbeak-canary or Abyssinian grosbeak-canary, Crithagra donaldsoni
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The Southern grosbeak-canary or Kenya grosbeak-canary, Crithagra buchanani
Extinct species
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In addition, there are two extinct Fringillidae "grosbeaks":
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The Bonin grosbeak ( Chaunoproctus ferreorostris), found only on the Ogasawara Islands, which was last recorded in 1832. Its relationships are obscure, but it was probably another member of the cardueline finches.
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The Kona grosbeak or grosbeak finch ( Chloridops kona), last recorded in 1896. It was a Hawaiian honeycreeper, subfamily Drepanidinae.
Cardinal-grosbeaks
The cardinal family (
Cardinalidae) of the
Americas contains the following 17 "grosbeaks":
Typical cardinal-grosbeaks
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The six species in the genus Pheucticus, ranging from the United States to Bolivia and northern Chile
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Mexican yellow grosbeak, P. chrysopeplus
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Southern yellow grosbeak, P. chrysogaster
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Black-thighed grosbeak, P. tibialis, a restricted-range endemic found only in the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama
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Black-backed grosbeak, P. aureoventris
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Rose-breasted grosbeak, P. ludovicianus
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Black-headed grosbeak, P. melanocephalus
Masked cardinal-grosbeaks
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The red-and-black grosbeak, Periporphyrus erythromelas of northern South America
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The two species in the Neotropical genus Caryothraustes:
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Black-faced grosbeak, C. poliogaster
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Yellow-green grosbeak, C. canadensis
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The crimson-collared grosbeak, Rhodothraupis celaeno, a restricted-range endemic found only in eastern Mexico
Blue cardinal-grosbeaks
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Two species in the Neotropical genus Cyanocompsa which also contains the blue bunting ( C. parellina):
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Ultramarine grosbeak, C. brissonii
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Blue-black grosbeak, C. cyanoides
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The glaucous-blue grosbeak ( Cyanoloxia glaucocaerulea) of eastern South America
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One species (sometimes separated in Guiraca) in the genus Passerina, which also contains the North American buntings:
Grosbeak tanagers
Three additional species of "grosbeaks" have long been placed in the Cardinalidae, but actually seem to be closer to the tanager family (
Thraupidae):
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Two species in the Neotropical genus Saltator, which also contains the saltators:
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Slate-coloured grosbeak, S. grossus
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Black-throated grosbeak, S. fuliginosus
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The yellow-shouldered grosbeak, Parkerthraustes humeralis of South America
Thick-billed weaver
Finally, the weaver family (
Ploceidae) contains a species called the thick-billed weaver (
Amblyospiza albifrons).
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