Cuban Grassquit

The Government of Cuba have recently submitted notice that it will list two species of native songbirds to CITES Appendix III. Appendix III listings can be made by any signatory country (Party) unilaterally and primarily serves the purpose of collecting data and documenting the trade.

Cuban Grassquit (Phonipara canora) by Simon Bruslund

The two species belongs to the tanager family. One the Cuban Grassquit (Phonipara canora [syn. Tiaris canorus]) is well known in the international trade since many decades whereas the other the Cuban Bullfinch (Pyrrhulagra nigra [syn. Melopyrrha nigra]) has only recently re-appeared in the international trade including in Europe long after the wild bird import ban of the European Union was in place.

The variation and discrepancies in the scientific names is due to the fact that different taxonomies are used but this will be the topic of another post.