Poephila Personata Bird

English Name:  Masked Finch
Latin Name:  Poephila personata
Protonym:  Poephila personata BirdsAustr. pt6 pl.91
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Estrildidae / Poephila
Taxonomy Code:  masfin1
Type Locality:  Borroloola, Northern Territory.
Author:  Gould
Publish Year:  1842
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

POEPHILA
(Estrildidae; Ϯ Long-tailed Finch P. acuticauda) Gr. ποιη poiē  grass; φιλος philos  lover; "inhabit the open plains bordering streams, and feed on the seeds of various grasses and other plants" (Gould 1865); "Genus POËPHILA.  Gen. char.— Rostrum ad basin tumidum, et igitur fere tam latum et profundum quam longum.  Alæ mediocres, remige prima parvula, secunda tertia quarta et quinta inter se fere æqualibus; digitis gracilibus, medio externis longiore, illis inter se æqualibus; digito postico, medio valde breviore.  Cauda cuneiformis, rectricibus duabus intermediis productis.  This form is nearly allied to Erythura and Estrelda.  Type, P. acuticauda (Amadina acuticauda, Gould in Proc. Zool. Soc., Part VII. p. 143)." (Gould 1842).
Synon. Alisteranus, Neopoephila.

personata / personatus
L. personatus  masked  < persona  mask.
● ex “Perroquet Geoffroy” of Levaillant 1805 (syn. Geoffroyus geoffroyi).
● ex “Chouette à Masque Noir” of Levaillant 1799, pl. 44 (syn. Pulsatrix perspicillata).

SUBSPECIES

Masked Finch (Masked)
Latin Name: Poephila personata personata
personata / personatus
L. personatus  masked  < persona  mask.
● ex “Perroquet Geoffroy” of Levaillant 1805 (syn. Geoffroyus geoffroyi).
● ex “Chouette à Masque Noir” of Levaillant 1799, pl. 44 (syn. Pulsatrix perspicillata).

Masked Finch (White-eared)
Latin Name: Poephila personata leucotis
leucotis
Gr. λευκος leukos white; -ωτις -ōtis -eared < ους ous, ωτος ōtos ear.
● ex “Fourmilier à oreilles blanches de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 822, and “White-eared Manakin” of Latham 1783 (syn. Conopophaga aurita).