Scrub Euphonia Euphonia affinis Scientific name definitions

The male of the tiny Scrub Euphonia is simply attired with blue-black head, upperparts, and chest, and yellow on the forecrown and remaining underparts, similar to other members of the Euphonia genus. Females are duller, with pale yellow below and greenish-gray above and may be mistaken for a female manakin (Pipridae). This common bird occurs from sea level to about 1,500 m in a variety of habitats including arid to humid forest, scrubby woodland, agricultural land with scattered trees, and fruiting trees in villages. It ranges from southern Tamaulipas and Oaxaca in Mexico to Costa Rica. As other euphonias, it often joins mixed flocks of fruit-eating birds. Listen for this species’ doubled or tripled dee or deen notes, quite different from the various call notes of similar species with which it is likely to occur.

Small, short-tailed euphonia with blue black-and-yellow pattern typical of many in genus; bill short and stubby.

It is very similar to its sister species, the West Mexican Euphonia (Euphonia godmani), which has white instead of yellow undertail-coverts. Females of Eupohnia godmani are also slightly paler overall, with the center of the belly and undertail-coverts white, flanks yellowish, and undertail with more white. Scrub Euphonia also has a very similar coloration pattern to other species in the genus, especially Purple-throated Euphonia (Euphonia chlorotica), Yellow-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia luteicapilla), and Trinidad Euphonia (Euphonia trinitatis), which are all allopatric. The Scrub Euphonia also resembles the sympatric Yellow-throated Euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea) and White-vented Euphonia (Euphonia minuta), with which it overlaps partially in Middle America.

Juvenile

Male. Intermediate in different degrees in coloration between the adult male and female according to age. It has the head olive and may show blue-black flight-feathers. Males typically acquire black on face and head after approximately 1 year, thereafter may show variable amount of black mottling mixed with olive on back and underparts. It may require 2 years to gain full adult plumage (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close , 2 Ridgway, R. (1902). The Birds of North and Middle America: a Descriptive Catalogue of the Higher Groups, Genera, Species, and Subspecies of Birds Known to Occur in North America, from the Arctic Lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other Islands of the Caribbean Sea, and the Galapagos Archipelago. Part 2. Smithsonian Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Close ).

Female. Similar to the adult female, but grayer above; underparts less yellowish anteriorly, the throat, chest, and sides of breast may be yellowish gray (2 Ridgway, R. (1902). The Birds of North and Middle America: a Descriptive Catalogue of the Higher Groups, Genera, Species, and Subspecies of Birds Known to Occur in North America, from the Arctic Lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other Islands of the Caribbean Sea, and the Galapagos Archipelago. Part 2. Smithsonian Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Close ).

Adult

Male. Has forehead to eye bright yellow (appearing as a small, relatively restricted patch), rest of head down to foreneck glossy blue-black with purplish sheen; upperparts glossy blue-black; median and greater upper­wing-coverts, flight-feathers, and tertials blackish, somewhat glossed dark blue; breast, belly and undertail-coverts bright yellow, under­wing-coverts white; tail blackish, with inner webs of outer two tail feathers white (from below, showing as large oval-shaped patch on each side of tail)(1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

Female. Has forehead olive-yellow, becoming grayish on rest of crown and nape; upperparts olive, with gray tinge on back; side of head and most of underparts olive-yellow, turning to yellow on belly and undertail-coverts (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

No information available.

Iris

Dark brown (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

Bill

Maxilla black, becoming grayish beneath nostril; mandible light bluish gray with blackish tip (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close , 2 Ridgway, R. (1902). The Birds of North and Middle America: a Descriptive Catalogue of the Higher Groups, Genera, Species, and Subspecies of Birds Known to Occur in North America, from the Arctic Lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other Islands of the Caribbean Sea, and the Galapagos Archipelago. Part 2. Smithsonian Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Close ).

Tarsi

Dark gray (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

Linear measurements

Means ± SD calculated from raw data from Vázquez-López et al. (3 Vázquez-López, M., Morrone, J. J., Ramírez-Barrera, S. M., López-López, A., Robles-Bello, S. M., and B. E. Hernández-Baños (2020). Multilocus, phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological niche analyses provide evidence for two species within Euphonia affinis (Aves, Fringillidae). ZooKeys 952:129–157 Close ).

Bill Depth (from the upper mandible to the base of the bill at the distal edge of the nostril)

E. a. affinis: Males 4.22 mm ± 0.32 SD (range 3.44–5.15, n = 203); females 4.13mm ± 0.29 SD (range 2.98–5.037, n = 105).

Bill Length (from the upper base of the bill to the tip of the upper mandible)

E. a. affinis: Males 6.70 mm ± 0.43 SD (range 5.03–7.97, n = 207); females 6.52 mm ± 0.52 SD (range 4.78–7.66, n = 115).

Bill Width

E. a. affinis: Males 5.70 mm ± 0.66 SD (range 4.33–6.84, n = 206); females 5.72 mm ± 0.55 SD (range 4.21–6.90, n = 116).

Tarsus Length

E. a. affinis: Males 12.93 mm ± 0.53 SD (range 11.37–14.40, n = 204); females 13.03 mm ± 0.59 SD (range 11.19–14.63, n = 114).

Wing Chord

E. a. affinis: Males 53 mm ± 1.83 SD (range 47.78–60.17, n = 210); females 51.81 mm ± 1.91 SD (range 45.17–55.98, n = 116).

Tail Length (distance from the uropygial gland to the tip of the longest rectrix)

E. a. affinis: Males 28.59 mm ± 2.00 SD (range 21.10–34, n = 209); females 28.17 mm ± 1.77 SD (range 23.83–37.67, n = 115).

Mass

Both sexes: mean 10 g (range 8.5–12.8 g, n = 28) (4 Dunning, J. B., Jr. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses. Second edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA. Close ).

It was originally described as Tanagra affinis by Lesson (5 Lesson, R. P. (1842). Species avium noveau aut minus cognitae. Revue zoologique 5:174–175. Close ). Until recently, three subspecies were recognized within Scrub Euphonia: the nominate affinis, olmecurum, and godmani (6 Blake, E.R. (1950). Report on a collection of birds from Oaxaca, Mexico. Fieldiana Zool.. 31: 395-419. Close , 7 Miller, A. H., H. Friedman, L. Griscom, and R. T. Moore (1957). Distributional check-list of the birds of Mexico. Part 2. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33:1–136. Close , 8 Storer, R. W. (1970). Subfamily Thraupinae. In Check-list of Birds of the World, Volume 13 (R. A. Paynter and R. W. Storer, Editors), Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MA, USA. pp. 246–408. Close , 9 Dickerman, R.W. (1981). Geographic variation in the Scrub Euphonia. Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State Univ. 59: 1-6. Close ). Subspecies godmani and affinis were recognized as separate species by several authors in the past (2 Ridgway, R. (1902). The Birds of North and Middle America: a Descriptive Catalogue of the Higher Groups, Genera, Species, and Subspecies of Birds Known to Occur in North America, from the Arctic Lands to the Isthmus of Panama, the West Indies and other Islands of the Caribbean Sea, and the Galapagos Archipelago. Part 2. Smithsonian Bulletin of the United States National Museum 50. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. Close , 10 Hellmayr, C. E. (1936). Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History. Tersinidae-Thraupidae. Field Museum of Natural History (Zoological Series) 13(9):i–v, 1–458. Close , 11 van Rossem, A. J. (1945). A distributional survey of the birds of Sonora, Mexico. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, Louisiana State University 21:1–379. Close , 12 Eisenmann, E. (1955). The Species of Middle American Birds: a List of All Species Recorded from Mexico to Panama, with Suggested English Names, Outlines of Range and a Distributional Bibliography. Transactions of the Linnaean Society of New York 7. The Linnaean Society of New York, New York. vi, 128 pp. Close , 13 Navarro-Sigüenza, A.G. and Peterson, A.T. (2004). An alternative species taxonomy of the birds of Mexico. Biota Neotropica 4(2): 1–32. Close ), an idea that has been recently revisited in light of new data showing reciprocal monophyly in multiple genetic loci between affinis and godmani, as well as diagnosable differences in plumage and song (3 Vázquez-López, M., Morrone, J. J., Ramírez-Barrera, S. M., López-López, A., Robles-Bello, S. M., and B. E. Hernández-Baños (2020). Multilocus, phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological niche analyses provide evidence for two species within Euphonia affinis (Aves, Fringillidae). ZooKeys 952:129–157 Close ). With this new data taken into account, and the fact that the Pacific slope of Mexico where godmani occurs is an area of high endemism, the North American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society recognized Euphonia godmani as a separate species, the West Mexican Euphonia (14 Chesser, R. T., S .M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, A. W. Kratter, I. J. Lovette, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker (2021). Sixty-second supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 138:ukab037. Close ).

Males of subspecies olmecorum are similar to those of the nominate subspecies, while females differ from nominate in being overall paler: underparts and flanks duller, more grayish, and less yellow-olive than in nominate subspecies, and belly much duller yellow. Dorsally, blue-gray of crown and nape slightly paler, and green of rump, upper tail coverts, and edges of rectrices duller, less yellow (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close , 9 Dickerman, R.W. (1981). Geographic variation in the Scrub Euphonia. Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State Univ. 59: 1-6. Close ).

The Scrub Euphonia is the sister species of the West Mexican Euphonia (Euphonia godmani), but their affinities to other species in the genus are not clear. A study based on one mitochondrial and four nuclear loci recovered Euphonia affinis and Euphonia godmani as sister to a clade formed by Yellow-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia luteicapilla), Purple-throated Euphonia (Euphonia chlorotica), and Finsch's Euphonia (Euphonia finschi)(3 Vázquez-López, M., Morrone, J. J., Ramírez-Barrera, S. M., López-López, A., Robles-Bello, S. M., and B. E. Hernández-Baños (2020). Multilocus, phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological niche analyses provide evidence for two species within Euphonia affinis (Aves, Fringillidae). ZooKeys 952:129–157 Close ). Another study using thousands of ultraconserved element (UCE) loci, as well as mitochondrial DNA genomes, recovered E. affinis (godmani was not included in the study) as sister to Euphonia luteicapilla, which together were sister to Trinidad Euphonia (Euphonia trinitatis)(15 Imfeld, T. S., F. K. Barker and R. T. Brumfield (2020). Mitochondrial genomes and thousands of ultraconserved elements resolve the taxonomy and historical biogeography of the Euphonia and Chlorophonia finches (Passeriformes: Fringillidae). The Auk, Ornithological Advances 137:1-25. Close ).

In Spanish it is known as 'Eufonia Garganta Negra' or 'Eufonia Matorralera'.

No information available.

Gulf slope of Mexico from Nuevo León, southern Tamaulipas, and eastern San Luis Potosí to northern Chiapas, Yucatán Peninsula south through Belize and Guatemala to northern Honduras, and Pacific slope of Mexico from western Oaxaca along coast to northwestern Costa Rica (Guanacaste).

The species seems to have expanded northward in the last decades. Individuals were recorded feeding in 2004, and then a nest was recorded in 2006, in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico (16 Brush, T. (2009). Range expansions and new breeding records of birds in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 54 (1):91-96. Close ). Later on, in 2009, four individuals were recorded for the first time in Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico, being the first record of the species for this state (17 Monroy Ojeda, A. (2010). Primer registro de la eufonia garganta negra (Euphonia affinis) en el estado de Nuevo León, México. Huitzil 11:1–3. Close ). The previous northernmost records of the species were around the Gomez Farias area, Mexico (about a 100 km south of Ciudad Victoria, 18 Sutton, G.M. and Pettingill, O.S. Jr. (1942). Birds of the Gomez Farías region: southwestern Tamaulipas. Auk. 59(1): 1-34. Close ).

In general, it inhabits a variety of semi-open, drier, or lightly wooded areas, including dry forest, forest borders, second growth, scrub, cultivated areas, and pastures with scattered trees, as well as humid forest borders, riverine forest, gardens, and clearings; not found inside moist or humid forest (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ). Predominantly a species of rather xeric tropical lowland habitats, it is noteworthy that the duller colored subspecies olmecorum occurs in the portions of the species range with markedly higher rainfall (9 Dickerman, R.W. (1981). Geographic variation in the Scrub Euphonia. Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. Louisiana State Univ. 59: 1-6. Close ). Reported from sea-level to 2,250 m, but mostly below 1,000 m (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

Resident. Some local wandering likely during post-breeding period (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

No information available.

Primarily frugivorous, taking berries of mistletoe and many other small fruits. Occurs in pairs and small groups, frequently in association with Yellow-throated Euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea).

Forages for insects by examining undersides of thin twigs, sometimes wagging its half-spread tail from side to side as it moves (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close , 19 Slud, P. (1964). The birds of Costa Rica: distribution and ecology. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 128:1–430. Close ).

Stomach contents often full of mistletoe berries (Loranthaceae); three specimens reported with berry seeds and fruit pulp other than mistletoe (20 Dickey, D. R., and A. J. van Rossem (1938). The birds of El Salvador. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, Chicago, IL, USA. Close ). Also consumes other small fruits, including figs (Ficus), Muntingia (Elaeocarpaceae), and Neea (Nyctaginaceae), and a variety of cultivated fruits, such as oranges and bananas, but only when opened by larger birds. In El Salvador, this species often visited the oranges previously opened by Golden-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes aurifrons santacruzi) (20 Dickey, D. R., and A. J. van Rossem (1938). The birds of El Salvador. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, Chicago, IL, USA. Close ). It consumes some insects as well, and noted once with a large grasshopper (Caelifera)(1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

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Vocal behavior of this species is not known in much detail. Calls with two or three dee notes that are quite different from the various call notes of other euphonias with which it is likely to co-occur. Song similar to that of West Mexican Euphonia (Euphonia godmani), but with a slower note production rate, one of the arguments used to assess the taxonomic status of these two taxa (3 Vázquez-López, M., Morrone, J. J., Ramírez-Barrera, S. M., López-López, A., Robles-Bello, S. M., and B. E. Hernández-Baños (2020). Multilocus, phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological niche analyses provide evidence for two species within Euphonia affinis (Aves, Fringillidae). ZooKeys 952:129–157 Close ).

Call of 1–3 pure thin whistles, “dee-dee-dee”, sometimes followed by 2 or 3 more on same or slightly lower pitch; also gives shorter “whit-it-it-it” and longer “wheeee”. Song, less often heard, a weak twittering and chirping medley, e.g. “wheetidy-titity-witity-titity” (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ). Song notes produced at an average rate of 3 notes/s (3 Vázquez-López, M., Morrone, J. J., Ramírez-Barrera, S. M., López-López, A., Robles-Bello, S. M., and B. E. Hernández-Baños (2020). Multilocus, phenotypic, behavioral, and ecological niche analyses provide evidence for two species within Euphonia affinis (Aves, Fringillidae). ZooKeys 952:129–157 Close ).

None reported.

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It often joins mixed flocks of fruit-eating birds (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

No information available.

Information about the breeding biology of this species is scarce, but what is available suggests similarities to other euphonias: both sexes contribute to nest building and feeding the nestlings, but only the female incubates for approximately two weeks, during which time the male feeds her.

Nest with eggs found in May in Mexico, and breeding reported in dry season in Costa Rica (November to April, 1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ). In El Salvador, Scrub Euphonia occur in pairs throughout the year, and nesting is apparently not restricted to a particular season: breeding individuals were captured in January, March, April, August, September, and October. However, there may be a cessation of activity in El Salvador during the annual molt in midsummer (20 Dickey, D. R., and A. J. van Rossem (1938). The birds of El Salvador. Field Museum of Natural History Zoological Series, Chicago, IL, USA. Close ).

Usually found between 3.5 and 8 m up on a horizontal branch, in fork of sapling, or wedged in fork beneath large dead leaf of Cecropia (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ). Two records of nests in urban areas, on man-made objects or structures: one in a plant pot hanging from a Purple Mombin (Spondias purpurea; 21 Sánchez-Soto, S. (2013). Nuevo sitio de anidación de la eufonia garganta negra (Euphonia affinis). Zeledonia 17:65–67. Close ), and one on a group of coiled cables attached to a power line (22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ).

The nest is football-shaped with a side entrance, made from grass stems, leaf petioles, bits of leaves, bark, and fine rootlets, and lined with fungal fibers (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ). Both sexes contribute to nest building and, according to one record, the male was often the first to place nesting material, followed by the female, which then took care of shaping the nest. They were more active in the morning (22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ).

Color and Surface Texture

In Costa Rica, white to buffy white with reddish-brown spots or paler blotches, forming a cap (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

Clutch size

In Costa Rica, 2–3 eggs (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ).

Incubation Period

Incubation period lasted 15 days in one record from El Salvador (22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ).

Parental Behavior

According to one record from El Salvador, only the female incubates, while the male feeds her (22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ), as has been documented in other euphonias (23 Sargent, S. (1993). Nesting biology of the Yellow-throated Euphonia: Large clutch size in a Neotropical frugivore. Wilson Bull. 105(2): 285-300. Close , 24 Di Sallo, F. G., Bodrati, A., and K. L. Cockle (2019). Nesting and natural history of the Chestnut-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia pectoralis) in Misiones, Argentina, and comparison with other species in the genus. Ornitología Neotropical 30:19–26. Close ). The male made short and loud calls every time he arrived at or left the nest; the male and female would then go out together for periods of incubation rest, and when returning, the male would often inspect the nest from outside first, and then the female would enter (22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ).

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Feeding

According to one record from El Salvador, after hatching the pair would go out together and when they returned, the male and female would take turns entering the nest to feed the chicks. Both parents were secretive when arriving to the nest, and their calls were very soft (22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ).

Not reported.

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Not globally threatened. Widespread and fairly numerous throughout its mainly lowland range. Status in El Salvador, which is almost entirely deforested, is uncertain, although this species should formerly have occurred across at least in the western third of the country. Can be expected to occur in numerous protected areas, especially in Mexico, northern Guatemala, Belize, and western Nicaragua. The species thrives also in drier settled or disturbed areas, so long as there are scattered trees and woodlots. Appears to be at little risk in the short term, although may be declining locally where destruction of tropical dry forest is extensive (1 Hilty, S. L. (2011). Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis). In Handbook of the birds of the world, Volume 16: Tanagers to New World Blackbirds (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and D.A. Christie, Editors). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. p. 285. Close ). Recent records of pairs nesting in urban areas on man-made structures, suggesting tolerance to human presence (16 Brush, T. (2009). Range expansions and new breeding records of birds in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 54 (1):91-96. Close , 21 Sánchez-Soto, S. (2013). Nuevo sitio de anidación de la eufonia garganta negra (Euphonia affinis). Zeledonia 17:65–67. Close , 22 Andino, L. (2020). Notas sobre la anidación de la Eufonia Gorjinegra (Euphonia affinis) en una zona urbana de San Salvador, El Salvador. Zeledonia 24:75–83. Close ).

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Information about the breeding biology of this species is very scarce, and almost no data available about other key aspects of its biology, including behavior, demography and population dynamics.