This article is about the endangered South American finch-like tanager. It is not to be confused with
northern cardinals with a rare genetic mutation making them yellow instead of red.
The yellow cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is a
species of South American bird in the tanager family
Thraupidae. It is the
only member of its
genus, Gubernatrix. It is very rare and can only be found in South America.
Taxonomy
The yellow cardinal was
formally described in 1817 by the French ornithologist
Louis Pierre Vieillot under the
binomial nameCoccothraustes cristata.[3][4] The specific epithet is from the Latin cristatus meaning "crested" or "plumed".[5] The species was moved to its own genus Gubernatrix by the French naturalist
René Lesson in 1837.[6] The genus name is the Latin word for "governess".[7]
Although traditionally included in the family
Emberizidae, a study published in 2011 found that the species was more closely related to the tanager family
Thraupidae.[8] A comprehensive study of the tanagers published in 2014 found strong support for a
sister relationship between the yellow cardinal and the
diuca finch.[9] The two species are known to hybridize, however the yellow cardinal is
monotypic and no
subspecies are recognised.[10][11]
The current global population of Gubernatrix cristata is between 1000 and 2000.[15] Studies have shown that there are some genetic differences between different populations.[16] Another study has shown that the yellow cardinal presents plasticity in song production, with small differences in song among four different populations.[17]
^Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 180.
ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
^Campagna, L.; Geale, K.; Handford, P.; Lijtmaer, D.A.; Tubaro, P.L.; Lougheed, S.C. (2011). "A molecular phylogeny of the Sierra-Finches (Phrygilus, Passeriformes): Extreme polyphyly in a group of Andean specialists". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (2): 521–533.
doi:
10.1016/j.ympev.2011.07.011.
hdl:11336/68885.
PMID21807104.
^Barilla, James. "Zoopolis." My Backyard Jungle: The Adventures of an Urban Wildlife Lover Who Turned His Yard into Habitat and Learned to Live with It. New Haven: Yale UP, 2014. 296-97. Print.
^Domínguez, Marisol; Reboreda, Juan Carlos; Mahler, Bettina (2016). "Effects of fragmentation and hybridization on geographical patterns of song variation in the endangered Yellow Cardinal Gubernatrix cristata". Ibis. 158 (4): 738–746.
doi:
10.1111/ibi.12388.
hdl:11336/61397.
ISSN1474-919X.
^BirdLife International (2019) Species factsheet: Gubernatrix cristata. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 13/04/2019
^Domínguez, M. , Reboreda, J. C. and Mahler, B. (2016), Effects of fragmentation and hybridization on geographical patterns of song variation in the endangered Yellow Cardinal Gubernatrix cristata. Ibis, 158: 738-746. doi:10.1111/ibi.12388