NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Saffron Finch
Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The saffron finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a tanager from South America that is common in open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon Basin. They have a wide distribution in Colombia, northern Venezuela (where it is called "canario de tejado" or "roof canary"), western Ecuador, western Peru, eastern and southern Brazil (where it is called "canário-da-terra" or "native canary"), Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, northern Argentina, and Trinidad and Tobago. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Panama, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and elsewhere. Although commonly regarded as a canary, it is not related to the Atlantic canary. Formerly, it was placed in the Emberizidae but it is close to the seedeaters.
Wikipedia contributors, Saffron finch; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:30:40.072598+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Common name
- Saffron Finch
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Sicalis
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyThraupidae
- genusSicalis F. Boie, 1828
- speciesSicalis flaveola (Linnaeus, 1766)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sicalis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Greenish Yellow FinchSicalis olivascens (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Raimondi's Yellow FinchSicalis raimondii Taczanowski, 1874 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sulphur-throated FinchSicalis taczanowskii Sharpe, 1888 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bright-rumped Yellow FinchSicalis uropigyalis (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Puna Yellow FinchSicalis lutea (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1837) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Greater Yellow FinchSicalis auriventris Philippi & Landbeck, 1864 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Orange-fronted Yellow FinchSicalis columbiana Cabanis, 1851 | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Patagonian Yellow FinchSicalis lebruni (Oustalet, 1891) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Monte Yellow FinchSicalis mendozae (Sharpe, 1888) | ThraupidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Oceania
South America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=179556 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6YLG9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.