The diuca finch (''Diuca diuca'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

of bird in the tanager family

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotrop ...

. It is the only member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

''Diuca''. It is found in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, and heavily degraded former forest.

Taxonomy

The diuca finch was formally described in 1782 by the Chilean naturalist

Juan Ignacio Molina Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Chilean Jesuit priest, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Molina (a form of Abbot M ...

under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Fringilla diuca''. The specific epithet is from the Araucano names ''Diuca'' or ''Siuca'' for this species. With the transfer of the

glacier finch The glacier finch (''Idiopsar speculifer''), also known as the white-winged diuca finch and glacier bird, is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in Peru, Bolivia and far northern Chile and Argentina. Its natural habi ...

(formerly white-winged diuca finch) to ''

Idiopsar ''Idiopsar'' is a genus of Neotropical seed-eating birds in the tanager family Thraupidae. Taxonomy and species list The genus ''Idiopsar'' was introduced in 1867 by the American ornithologist John Cassin to accommodate the newly described boul ...

'' or ''Chionodacryon'', the diuca finch is now the only member of the

''Diuca'', which was introduced in 1850 by the German naturalist

Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist and ornithologist. It was he who first requested Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific education and museum ...

. For the publication date see: Four subspecies are recognised: * ''D. d. crassirostris''

Hellmayr Carl Eduard Hellmayr (29 January 1878 in Vienna, Austria – 24 February 1944 in Orselina, Switzerland) was an Austrian ornithologist. Biography Hellmayr was born in Vienna and studied at the University of Vienna, although he did not complete h ...

, 1932 – north-central Chile, south Bolivia and north Argentina * ''D. d. diuca'' (Molina, 1782) – central, south-central Chile and west Argentina * ''D. d. chiloensis'' Philippi Bañados & Peña, 1964 –

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island ( es, Isla de Chiloé, , ) also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern ...

(off southern Chile) * ''D. d. minor'' Bonaparte, 1850 – central, south Argentina and south Chile

References

External links

Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the common diuca finch
* diuca finch Birds of Chile Birds of Argentina Birds of the Southern Andes diuca finch diuca finch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Thraupidae-stub