| Amaurospiza | |
|---|---|
 Blackish-blue Seedeater (Amaurospiza moesta) | |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Passeriformes |
| Family | Cardinalidae |
| Genus | Amaurospiza |
Amaurospiza is a genus of cardinals. These "seedeaters" were formerly associated with the American sparrows and placed in the Emberizidae or (in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy) the Fringillidae. The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek amauros ("dusky") + spiza ("finch").
Actually, they are part of the tanager-cardinal lineage. The AOU (American Ornithologists' Union) moved this genus into the Cardinalidae family in 2008. They may actually belong in one genus with the aberrant blue "grosbeaks" of the genus Cyanocompsa. If that is correct, the dickcissel in the genus Spiza would, quite amusingly, indeed turn out to be one of their closest living relatives.
Species[]
It contains the following species:
Blue Seedeater (Cabanis, 1861) (Amaurospiza concolor) Slate-blue Seedeater (Amaurospiza (concolor) relicta) Carrizal Seedeater (Lentino & Restall, 2003) (Amaurospiza carrizalensis) Blackish-blue Seedeater (Hartlaub, 1853) (Amaurospiza moesta)