Cuban Bullfinch - BirdForum Opus

Male of subspecies nigra. Photo © by THE_FERN. Cueva del jabali, Cayo Coco, Cuba, April 2024

Melopyrrha nigra

Pyrrhulagra nigra

Identification

Length: 14-15 cm (5.5-5.75 in).

• Bill thick, curved
• Male: black with white along edge of wing. The black is somewhat glossy blueish.
• Female: Cuban race is grayish-black, Cayman race is paler, more olive-gray.

Distribution

Only found in Cuba including Isle of Pines, where it is common and widespread.

Male. Photo © by Jack Brodie
Cayo Coco, Cuba, 23 March 2011

Taxonomy

Formerly placed in the genus Pyrrhulagra [6].

Cuban Bullfinch formerly included Grand Cayman Bullfinch.

Subspecies

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Found at all elevations, in woodlands, mangroves, brushy areas, and undergrowth in pine areas.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes seeds, fruit and insects.

Breeding

Breeds March through August, usually until July. Both pair members construct a large spherical bulky mass with side entrance. Three to five eggs are whitish with a greenish cast, spotted with reddish brown and lilac concentrated at the larger end.

Vocalisations

Song is a thin melodious trill that ascends or descends in pitch.

References

1. Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 14.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.14.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
3. Arthur Grosset
4. Birdforum thread discussing the taxonomy of Cuban Bullfinch
5. Ayón Güemes, X., E. Ruiz Rojas, and E. E. Iñigo-Elias (2013). Cuban Bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.cubbul1.01
6. Rising, J. & Kirwan, G.M. (2018). Cuban Bullfinch (Pyrrhulagra nigra). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/62157 on 30 November 2018).

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Cuban Bullfinch. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cuban_Bullfinch

External Links

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