The elegant euphonia or blue-hooded euphonia is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. It was formerly classified in the genus Euphonia, but phylogenetic evidence indicates that it groups with Chlorophonia.
Region
Mesoamerica
Typical Environment
Occurs from the highlands of southern Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and into western Panama. It favors humid montane and cloud forests, as well as forest edges and mature second growth. The species commonly uses fruiting trees in the canopy and along edges, and will visit shade coffee and other agroforestry systems where native trees persist. Locally it descends to lower elevations outside the breeding season where fruit is abundant.
Altitude Range
600–2500 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the blue-hooded euphonia, this tiny finch-like bird is famed for the male’s striking cobalt-blue hood contrasted with bright yellow underparts. It forages high in the canopy on small fruits—especially mistletoes—and is an important seed disperser in montane forests. Pairs or small groups often join mixed-species flocks at fruiting trees. Phylogenetic work has placed it with Chlorophonia rather than Euphonia.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs or small family groups and frequently joins mixed-species flocks at fruiting trees. Nests are usually well concealed in vegetation, and both parents attend the young. Territorial behavior is modest, focused around nesting sites and rich fruit sources.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Delivers thin, sweet, tinkling whistles and short musical phrases, often repeated in series. Contact calls are high-pitched chips that carry well through the canopy.
Plumage
Male with a glossy blue hood and nape, olive-green back, and bright yellow underparts; female is olive above with duller yellowish underparts and only a faint bluish wash on the head if any. Both sexes have short, neat, finch-like plumage with smooth textures and clean color blocks.
Diet
Primarily consumes small fruits and berries, especially mistletoe and other hemiparasitic plants, swallowing them whole and dispersing seeds. It supplements with small arthropods, particularly when feeding nestlings. Foraging is methodical, gleaning and plucking fruit in the canopy and upper midstory. It may track seasonal fruiting, shifting locally to areas with abundant crops.
Preferred Environment
Feeds mainly in the canopy and along forest edges, at fruiting trees and in vine tangles. Also utilizes shade coffee and other agroforestry mosaics when native fruiting trees are present.
