Puerto Rican Spindalis - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The Puerto Rican Spindalis was originally classified as Spindalis zena portoricensis, making it a subspecies of the Western Spindalis (Spindalis zena). In 1997, an article was published which presented an extensive analysis of the genus Spindalis. The report concluded, based on differences in weight, color, pattern, distribution, and voice, that a split of S. zena was necessary. Four distinct species were identified—Spindalis dominicensis, Spindalis nigricephala, Spindalis portoricensis and Spindalis zena. S. zena was also subdivided into five subspecies: S. z. pretrei, S. z. salvini, S. z. benedicti, S. z. townsendi and S. z. zena. Specifically, the difference in vocalization, and the morphological differences associated with it, distinguishes S. portoricensis from S. dominicensis.