Bullfinch

Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds.

The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus Pyrrhula . These birds are restricted to the Old World, and are:

• Brown Bullfinch, Pyrrhula nipalensis
• White-cheeked Bullfinch, Pyrrhula leucogenis
• Orange Bullfinch, Pyrrhula aurantiaca
• Red-headed Bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythrocephala
• Gray-headed Bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythaca
• Eurasian Bullfinch[?], Pyrrhula pyrrhula

There is an unrelated group of New World birds also named as bullfinches because of their superficial resemblances to the above species. These passerines are the large bunting and North American sparrow family Emberizidae. Three are in the genus Loxigilla :

• Puerto Rican Bullfinch, Loxigilla portoricensis
• Greater Antillean Bullfinch, Loxigilla violacea
• Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, Loxigilla noctis

The fourth is

• Cuban Bullfinch, Melopyrrha nigra