# Puerto Rican Bullfinch

Scientific name: Melopyrrha portoricensis

Bird group: [tanager](https://birdsofpuertorico.com/family/tanager)

Canonical source: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/bird/296/Puerto-Rican-Bullfinch

## Identification

The Puerto Rican bullfinch (Melopyrrha portoricensis) or comeñame in Spanish, is a small bullfinch tanager endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. These were previously considered Emberizidae.
The Puerto Rican bullfinch has black feathers with orange areas above the eyes, around its throat, and underneath the tail's base. The species measures from 17 to 19 cm and weighs approximately 32 grams.


## Distribution and habitat

The Puerto Rican Bullfinch is endemic to Puerto Rico (Raffaele 
and others 1998), but it is absent 
from the far eastern end of 
the main island and Vieques 
(Gemmill 2015, Oberle 2018). 
The bullfinch is common in 
forests at all elevations and 
coffee plantations as well as 
dry coastal thickets, but it is 
rare in mangroves (Oberle 
2018, Raffaele 1989a). The atlas 
fieldwork yielded a total of 548 
records within 269 hexagons 
or 56 percent of the total 479 
hexagons (see map). Of the 269 
hexagons where this species was found, breeding met the 
atlas definition of confirmed in 
4 percent (10) of the hexagons, 
probable in 34 percent (92), 
and possible in 62 percent 
(167). Atlas results confirm the 
bullfinchs absence in at least the 
lowlands of eastern Puerto Rico 
and on Vieques and Culebra 
(see map). Puerto Rican Bullfinch distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones 
in Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.

## Breeding

Previously published reports indicate that the Puerto Rican 
Bullfinch mainly breeds from 
March to June (Raffaele and 
others 1998). This species usually       287Puerto Rican Bullfinch/Comeñameplaces its nest on trees or shrubs, close to the ground (Biaggi 
1997). Atlas findings support the 
breeding information found in 
the literature, including evidence 
that breeding may occur outside 
of the peak March–June period 
(see chart). Results show that this 
species mostly breeds within the 
subtropical moist forest life zone 
(54 percent of the hexagons) 
and subtropical wet and lower 
montane wet forest life zones 
(31 percent of the hexagons). Although this species seems 
to be widely distributed across 
the central mountains of the 
main island, there is only one 
confirmed breeding record in 
the subtropical rain and lower 
montane rain forest life zones 
(see table and map).

## Conservation

The Puerto Rican Bullfinch is listed as a species of least 
concern by the IUCN (BirdLife International 2016). Locally, 
this species was listed as Data 
Deficient in 2005, but more 
recent assessments categorize it 
as Low Risk (PRDNER 2015). In 
Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican 
Bullfinch has a protected habitat 
in land of 15 percent or 959 km2 of the total area covered by 
the hexagons where evidence 
of breeding was found for this 
species (6437 km2). 

Photo: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_296_Im0.png.webp

Distribution map: https://birdsofpuertorico.com/static/images/webp/in_296_Im1.png.webp

Source note: Text is reproduced from this site's published record. Historical conservation statements and taxonomy have not been independently revalidated. See https://birdsofpuertorico.com/about for source credits and limitations.