View source for Inca finch

{{Short description|Genus of birds}}
{{automatic taxobox
| image = Gray-winged Inca-Finch imported from iNaturalist photo 115227491 on 20 August 2024.jpg
| image_caption = [[Grey-winged Inca finch]] (''Incaspiza ortizi'')
| taxon = Incaspiza
| authority =  [[Robert Ridgway|Ridgway]], 1898
| type_species = ''[[great Inca finch|Haemophila pulchra]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Philip Sclater|Sclater]], 1886
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = 
''5, see text''
}}

The '''Inca finches''' form the [[genus]] '''''Incaspiza''''', of [[finch]]-like birds in the tanager family [[Thraupidae]]. They were traditionally placed in the family [[Emberizidae]], but [[molecular phylogenetic]] studies have shown that they belong in Thraupidae instead. Both their [[Scientific name|scientific]] and [[common name]] refer to the [[Incan civilization]].

They are [[endemic]] to arid scrub in central and northern [[Peru]]. Buff-bridled, gray-winged and little Inca finches are restricted to the [[Marañón River|Marañón]] Valley. The rufous-backed Inca finch occurs either on the west slope of the Andes and both slopes of the [[Marañón River|Marañón]] Valley and is restricted to higher elevations, compared to great Inca finch which only occurs on the west slope of the Andes, but generally lower than the rufous-backed Inca finch. They are rather [[Terrestrial animal|terrestrial]], and typically forage within dense plant growth on the ground, but commonly perch higher, for example on the top of a tall [[cactus]] or in a small tree, when singing. They are typically seen singly or in pairs, but sometimes in small groups outside the breeding season. They normally do not take part in [[mixed-species flock]]s.

All have a pointed orange-yellow bill, a primarily gray head and chest, a paler [[Buff (color)|buff]] or whitish belly, extensive white to the outer tail-feathers, and a small – but contrasting – black mask and chin. Except in the [[gray-winged Inca finch]], all have a [[rufous]] back or wings.

==Taxonomy and species list==
The genus ''Incaspiza'' was introduced in 1898 by the American ornithologist [[Robert Ridgway]] with the [[great Inca finch]] as the [[type species]].<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Ridgway | first=Robert | author-link=Robert Ridgway | year=1898 | title=Descriptions of supposed new genera, species, and subspecies of American birds: I Fringillidae | journal=The Auk | volume=15 | issue=3 | pages=223–230 [224] | doi=10.2307/4068377 | jstor=4068377 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27447411 }}</ref> The name combines ''Incas'' with the [[Ancient Greek]] ''spiza'' meaning "finch".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=204 }}</ref> The genus was traditionally placed with the buntings and New World sparrows in the subfamily Emberizinae within an expanded family [[Emberizidae]].<ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1970 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=13 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=116 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483351 }}</ref> A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2014 found that ''Incaspiza'' was embedded in the tanager family [[Thraupidae]]. Within this family, the genus is now placed with ''[[Rhopospina]]'' and ''[[Porphyrospiza]]'' in the subfamily Porphyrospizinae.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Burns | first1=K.J. | last2=Shultz | first2=A.J. | last3=Title | first3=P.O. | last4=Mason | first4=N.A. | last5=Barker | first5=F.K. | last6=Klicka | first6=J. | last7=Lanyon | first7=S.M. | last8=Lovette | first8=I.J. | year=2014 | title=Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution| volume=75| pages=41–77 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006 | pmid=24583021 | url=https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3613&context=biosci_pubs }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2020 | title=Tanagers and allies | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/tanagers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=20 November 2020 }}</ref>

The genus contains five species.<ref name=ioc/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common Name !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:GreatInca-Finch.jpg|120px]] ||  ''Incaspiza pulchra'' || [[Great Inca finch]] ||   Peru
|-
| ||  ''Incaspiza personata'' || [[Rufous-backed Inca finch]] ||   Peru
|-
|[[File:Gray-winged Inca-Finch - Incaspiza ortizi (cropped).jpg|120px]]||  ''Incaspiza ortizi'' || [[Grey-winged Inca finch]] ||    Peru
|-
|[[File:Buff-bridled Inca-Finch - Incaspiza laeta (cropped).jpg|120px]]||  ''Incaspiza laeta'' || [[Buff-bridled Inca finch]] ||  Peru 
|-
|[[File:Incaspiza watkinsi - Little Inca-Finch (cropped).jpg|120px]]|| ''Incaspiza watkinsi'' || [[Little Inca finch]] ||  Peru 
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* Schulenberg, T., D. Stotz, D. Lane, J. O'Neill, & T. Parker III. (2007). ''Birds of Peru.'' [[Christopher Helm Publishers]]. {{ISBN|978-0-7136-8673-9}}

{{Passeroidea|T.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1092589}}

[[Category:Incaspiza|*]]
[[Category:Birds of the Peruvian Andes|*]]
[[Category:Endemic birds of Peru| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Robert Ridgway]]


{{Thraupidae-stub}}