With the celebration of the 2023 World Artistic Skating Championship, the The Velvet-fronted Euphonia has become the official character of the contest, changing its characteristic blue plumage for red wine to match its golden chest and resemble the Tolima flag, and in this way, to make a call to the world to care for nature and endangered species.
Fito has mounted his skates to carry this important message with his song.
His name, Fito, is a composition of the words involved in his habitat and the region that organizes the World Championship:
F (Letter included in his name and which also means the folklore of the region)
I (Ibagué, host city of the Major Coliseum where the World Championship will be held)
TO (Tolima, region of Colombia that hosts this World Championship of artistic skating)
THE VELVET-FRONTED EUPHONIA
The Velvet-fronted Euphonia (Euphonia Concinna) is one of the 10 most representative birds of Tolima.
It is a species of passerine bird in the family Fringillidae endemic to Colombia.
It is found only in the upper half of the Magdalena River valley, in western Colombia. Its natural habitats are tropical forests and tropical dry forests.
The Velvet-fronted Euphonia has its plumage blue and its chest is yellow.
It is a non-migratory species in danger of extinction given the high decreasing rate of its population.
