Euodice

Euodice
Indian silverbill (Euodice malabarica)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Estrildidae
Genus:	Euodice Reichenbach, 1862
Type species
Loxia cantans African silverbill Gmelin, 1789
Species
See text.

Euodice is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. These species are from the dry zones of Africa and India and are commonly referred to as silverbills. They were formerly included in the genus Lonchura.

The grey-headed silverbill, which shares the name "silverbill", is a member of the same family but is placed in the genus Spermestes.

Taxonomy

The genus Euodice was introduced in 1862 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.[1] The name combines the Ancient Greek eu meaning "good" with ōdikos meaning "musical" or "singing".[2] The type species was designated as the African silverbill in 1890 by Richard Bowdler Sharpe.[3][4]

The Indian and Africa silverbills were formerly placed in the genus Lonchura. A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that these species formed a clade that was basal to the members of Lonchura.[5][6]

Species

The genus contains two species:[6]

Genus Euodice – Reichenbach, 1862 – two species

Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
African silverbill	Euodice cantans (Gmelin, JF, 1789) Two subspecies E. c. cantans (Gmelin, JF, 1789) E. c. orientalis (Lorenz von Liburnau, L & Hellmayr, 1901)	Central Africa	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Indian silverbill	Euodice malabarica (Linnaeus, 1758)	Indian Subcontinent and adjoining regions	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

References

1. Reichenbach, Ludwig (1862). Die Singvögel als Fortsetzung de vollständigsten Naturgeschichte und zugleich als Central-Atlas für zoologische Gärten und für Thierfreunde. Ein durch zahlreiche illuminirte Abbildungen illustrirtes Handbuch zur richtigten Bestimmung und Pflege der Thiere aller Classen (in German). Vol. 4. Dresden and Leipzig: Expedition Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. p. 46.
2. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
3. Sharpe, R. Bowdler (1890). Catalogue of the Passeriformes or Perching Birds in the Collection of the British Museum. Sturnformes. Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. Vol. 13. London: Trustees of the British Museum. p. 368.
4. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 368.
5. Olsson, Urban; Alström, Per (2020). "A comprehensive phylogeny and taxonomic evaluation of the waxbills (Aves: Estrildidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 146: 106757. Bibcode:2020MolPE.14606757O. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106757. PMID 32028027.
6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 13 July 2021.