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Finches are passerine
Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
 bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, often seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
-eating, found mainly in the northern hemisphere and Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. One subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics. The family scientific name Fringillidae comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 word "fringilla", meaning chaffinch
Chaffinch

The Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae, also called a spink. Its large double white wing bars, white tail edges and greenish rump easily identify this 14-16 cm long species....
, a member of this family that is common in Europe. The taxonomic structure of the true finch family, Fringillidae, is somewhat disputed, with some including the Hawaiian honeycreepers as another subfamily (Drepanidinae) and/or uniting the cardueline and fringilline finches as tribe
Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe — or infrafamily — is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes....
s (Carduelini and Fringillini) in one subfamily; the euphonious finches were thought to be tanagers due to general similarity in appearance and mode of life until their real affinities were realized; the bunting
Bunting (bird)

Buntings are a group of eurasian and african passerine birds of the Family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as American sparrow....
s and American sparrow
American sparrow

American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
s were formerly considered another subfamily (Emberizinae).






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Encyclopedia


Finches are passerine
Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
 bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, often seed
Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
-eating, found mainly in the northern hemisphere and Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. One subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics. The family scientific name Fringillidae comes from the Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 word "fringilla", meaning chaffinch
Chaffinch

The Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae, also called a spink. Its large double white wing bars, white tail edges and greenish rump easily identify this 14-16 cm long species....
, a member of this family that is common in Europe. The taxonomic structure of the true finch family, Fringillidae, is somewhat disputed, with some including the Hawaiian honeycreepers as another subfamily (Drepanidinae) and/or uniting the cardueline and fringilline finches as tribe
Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe — or infrafamily — is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes....
s (Carduelini and Fringillini) in one subfamily; the euphonious finches were thought to be tanagers due to general similarity in appearance and mode of life until their real affinities were realized; the bunting
Bunting (bird)

Buntings are a group of eurasian and african passerine birds of the Family Emberizidae.They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and are the Old World equivalents of the species known in North America as American sparrow....
s and American sparrow
American sparrow

American sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming part of the family Emberizidae. American sparrows are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns....
s were formerly considered another subfamily (Emberizinae). Przewalski's "Rosefinch"
Przewalski's Finch

The Przewalski's Finch, Urocynchramus pylzowi, is an unusual passerine bird from the mountains of central-west China. Its taxonomy affinities were unclear for a long time, giving rise to other common names, the Pink-tailed Bunting and the Przewalski's Rosefinch....
 (Urocynchramus pylzowi) is now classified as a distinct, monotypic
Monotypic

In biology, a monotype is a alpha taxonomy group with only one biological type:In botany, a monotype is a taxon that has only one species: Ginkgo is a monotypic genus, while Ginkgoaceae is a monotypic family ....
 family with no particularly close relatives (Groth 2000).

"Classic" or true finches are small to moderately large and have strong, stubby beak
Beak

The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which, in addition to eating, is used for Personal grooming#In animals, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, Courtship#Courtship in the animal kingdom and feeding their young....
s, which in some species can be quite large. All have 12 tail feathers and 9 primaries. They have a bouncing flight, alternating bouts of flapping with gliding on closed wings, and most sing well. Their nests are basket-shaped and built in trees. The true finches range in size from the Andean Siskin (Carduelis spinescens), at 9.5 cm (3.8 inches) and 8.4 g., to the Collared Grosbeak (Mycerobas affinis), at nearly 23 cm (9 inches) and 79 g. (2.8 oz).

There are many birds in other families which are often called finches. These include many species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 in the very similar-looking Estrildids or waxbill family, which occur in the Old World tropics and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. Several groups of the Emberizidae
Emberizidae

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds.They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as Bunting ....
 family (buntings and American sparrows) are also named as finches, as are Darwin's finches
Darwin's finches

Darwin's finches are 13 or 14 separate combinatory species of Passerine birds related to a group that Charles Darwin collected on the Gal?pagos Islands during Second voyage of HMS Beagle....
 of the Galapagos islands, which provided evidence of natural selection.

Systematics

The systematics of the cardueline finches are contentious. The layout presented here follows the molecular studies of Marten & Johnson (1986) and Arnaiz-Villena et al. (1998, 2001, 2007, 2008), and takes into account the traditional splitting of the genus Carduelis. The exact position of several genera in the cardueline sequence is tentative.

Family Fringillidae

  • Subfamily Fringillinae - Fringilline finches; contains only three species, which feed their young on insects rather than straw.
    • Genus Fringilla
      Fringilla

      The genus Fringilla is a small group of finches, which are the only species in the subfamily FringillinaeThe three species, which feed their young on insects rather than seeds, are:...
       - Brambling and the chaffinches
      • Chaffinch
        Chaffinch

        The Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae, also called a spink. Its large double white wing bars, white tail edges and greenish rump easily identify this 14-16 cm long species....
         (Fringilla coelebs)
      • Blue Chaffinch
        Blue Chaffinch

        The Blue Chaffinch, Fringilla teydea, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird lives mainly in mountain Canary Island Pine forests on Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands....
         (Fringilla teydea)
      • Brambling
        Brambling

        The Brambling, Fringilla montifringilla, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird is widespread throughout the forests of northern Europe and Asia....
         (Fringilla montifringilla)


  • Subfamily Carduelinae - Cardueline finches; a much larger group that contains several genera which feed their young on seeds. Studies of mitochondrial DNA suggest this subfamily consists of several well-defined clades.
    • Hawfinches and Asian Grosbeaks.
      • Genus Eophona
        Eophona

        Eophona is a genus of Finch containing two species:* Yellow-billed Grosbeak Eophona migratoria* Japanese Grosbeak Eophona personata...
         - oriental grosbeaks
      • Genus Coccothraustes
        Coccothraustes

        Coccothraustes is a genus of large Finch containing three species:* Hawfinch Coccothraustes coccothraustes* Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus...
         - Hawfinch
        Hawfinch

        The Hawfinch, Coccothraustes coccothraustes, is a passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. As its closest living relatives are the Evening Grosbeak from North America and the Hooded Grosbeak from Central America especially Mexico, the Hawfinch is sometimes also known as European Grosbeak....
        , Evening Grosbeak
        Evening Grosbeak

        The Evening Grosbeak, Coccothraustes vespertinus, is a large finch. In the past, it was treated in a genus of its own as Hesperiphona vespertina, but is now usually placed in the same genus as the Hawfinch of Eurasia....
         - polyphyletic?
      • Genus Mycerobas
        Mycerobas

        This article was auto-generated by...
         - Mycerobas grosbeaks
    • American Rosefinches.
      • Genus "Carpodacus" - House Finch
        House Finch

        The House Finch is a medium-sized finch of the Rosefinch genus....
        , Cassin's Finch
        Cassin's Finch

        The Cassin's Finch, Carpodacus cassinii, is a medium-sized finch of the Rosefinch genus.Adults have a short forked brown tail and brown wings....
        , and Purple Finch
        Purple Finch

        The Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, is a small finch of the Rosefinch genus....
    • Bullfinches.
      • Genus Pinicola - Pine Grosbeak
        Pine Grosbeak

        The Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator, is a large finch. It is the only member of its genus, Pinicola. It is found in coniferous woods across Canada, Alaska and the western mountains of the United States, and in northern Fennoscandia....
      • Genus Pyrrhula
        Pyrrhula

        Pyrrhula is a small genus of passerine birds, commonly called Bullfinches, belonging to the finch family .The genus has a palearctic distribution....
         - bullfinches
        Bullfinch

        * A Bullfinch is one of two groups of passerine birdsBullfinch can also refer to:* Bullfinch , an obstacle seen on the cross-country course in the sport of eventing...
    • "Arid-zone" clade.
      • Genus Leucosticte - mountain finch
        Mountain finch

        The mountain finches are birds in the genus Leucosticte from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage....
        es
      • Genus N.N. - Dark-breasted Rosefinch
        Dark-breasted Rosefinch

        The Dark-Breasted Rosefinch is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family.It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam....
        , "Carpodacus" nipalensis
      • Genus Rhodopechys
        Rhodopechys

        Rhodopechys is a genus of Finch containing three species:* Crimson-winged Finch, Rhodopechys sanguinea* Trumpeter Finch, Rhodopechys githaginea...
         - Trumpeter Finch
        Trumpeter Finch

        The Trumpeter Finch, Rhodopechys githaginea, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in the Canary Islands, across north Africa, and in the Middle East and into central Asia....
         and relatives
    • Asian Rosefinches.
      • Genus Carpodacus - rosefinch
        Rosefinch

        The rosefinches are birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most Carpodacus species are so named, but three common North American ones are not....
        es (Genus in need of substantial revision. May consist of two or more genera; alternatively may include Haematospiza and Uragus)
      • Genus Haematospiza - Scarlet Finch
        Scarlet Finch

        This article was auto-generated by...
      • Genus Uragus - streaked rosefinches
    • Goldfinch - Canary - Crossbill clade. Carduelis
      Carduelis

      The genus Carduelisis a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. It includes the greenfinches, redpolls, goldfinches, linnets, the twite, and the non-African siskins....
       and Serinus
      Serinus

      The genus Serinus is a large genus of birds in the finch family Fringillidae found mostly in the Afrotropical region with some outlying species in Europe and Asia....
       are polyphyletic and are probably best regarded as a collection of independent sub-groups or genera.
      • Genus Serinus
        Serinus

        The genus Serinus is a large genus of birds in the finch family Fringillidae found mostly in the Afrotropical region with some outlying species in Europe and Asia....
         sensu lato         - canaries
        Canary

        The Canary , also called the Island Canary, Atlantic Canary or Common Canary, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Serinus in the finch family, Fringillidae....
        , seedeater
        Seedeater

        The seedeaters and their relatives are a group of passerine birds formerly placed in the bunting family Emberizidae. They are now known to be tanagers closely related to Darwins finches....
        s, serin
        Serín

        Ser?n is a district of the municipality of Gij?n / Xix?n, in Principality of Asturias, Spain.The population of Ser?n was 309 in 2004Ser?n is located on the western area of Gij?n / Xix?n, and borders with the Asturian municipalities of Llanera, Corvera de Asturias and Carre?o....
        s and African siskin
        Siskin

        Siskin may refer to:...
        s
        • (Sub)Genus Serinus sensu stricto - European Serin and relatives, possibly related to Spinus.
        • (Sub)Genus Crithagra - afrotropical canaries, seedeaters, citrils etc. Probably only distantly related to Serinus.
      • Genus Linurgus - Oriole Finch
        Oriole Finch

        The Oriole Finch is a bird from the Fringillidae family. Found in Africa, native to Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda....
        . Possibly basal to Crithagra.
      • Genus Rhynchostruthus - the golden-winged grosbeak
        Golden-winged grosbeak

        The genus Rhynchostruthus is a small group of finches in the family Fringillinae. Commonly known as golden-winged grosbeaks, they are attractive, chunky, medium-sized, robust-billed songbirds restricted to the southern Arabian and northern Somalian regions....
        s. Tentatively placed here.
      • Genus "Serinus" thibetanus - Tibetan Serin
        Tibetan Serin

        The Tibetan Serin is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family.It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal.Its natural habitat is temperate forests....
        . Probably related to Spinus and Serinus sensu stricto.
      • Genus Carduelis
        Carduelis

        The genus Carduelisis a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. It includes the greenfinches, redpolls, goldfinches, linnets, the twite, and the non-African siskins....
         sensu lato
        • (Sub)Genus Carduelis sensu stricto - European Goldfinch
          European Goldfinch

          The Goldfinch or European Goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family....
          , Citril Finch
          Citril Finch

          The Citril Finch is a small songbird and member of the finch family. For a long time, it was placed in the genus Serinus, but it is apparently more closely related to the European Goldfinch ....
           and Corsican Finch
          Corsican Finch

          The Corsican Finch is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae.It was formerly regarded a subspecies of the Citril Finch, but it differs in morphology and vocalizations as well as mtDNA DNA sequence and they are now considered distinct species ....
          . Probably only distantly related to Spinus.
        • (Sub)Genus Spinus - siskin
          Siskin

          Siskin may refer to:...
          s and american goldfinch
          American Goldfinch

          The American Goldfinch , also known as the Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Canary, is a North American bird in the finch family . It is bird migration, ranging from southern Canada to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico during the winter....
          es
        • (Sub)Genus Linaria - linnet
          Linnet

          IntroductionThe Linnet, Carduelis cannabina, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in Europe, western Asia and north Africa....
          s and twite
          Twite

          The Twite, Carduelis flavirostris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.This bird breeds in northern Europe and across central Asia....
          . Related to Spinus.
        • (Sub)Genus Chloris - greenfinch
          Greenfinch

          Greenfinch may refer to:...
          es and Desert Finch
          Desert Finch

          The Desert Finch , sometimes called Lichtenstein's Desert Finch, is a large brown Fringillidae found in southern Eurasia. Its taxonomy is confused, and it has formerly been placed in Fringilla, Bucanetes, Rhodospiza and Rhodopechys....
        • (Sub)Genus Acanthis - redpoll
          Redpoll

          The Redpolls are a group of small passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae which have characteristic red markings on their heads. They were formerly placed into the genus Acanthis together with the linnets and the twite, but their closest relatives are actually the crossbills, that are placed in the genus Loxia....
          s. Related to Loxia.
        • (Sub)Genus Loxia - crossbill
          Crossbill

          The crossbills are birds in the finch family Fringillidae. The three to five species are all classified in the genus Loxia. These birds are characterised by the mandibles crossing at their tips, which gives the group its English language name....
          s.
    • Genera as yet unplaced.
      • Genus Pyrrhoplectes
        Pyrrhoplectes

        This article was auto-generated by...
         - Gold-naped Finch
        Gold-naped Finch

        This article was auto-generated by...
      • Genus Chaunoproctus - Bonin Grosbeak
        Bonin Grosbeak

        The Bonin Grosbeak or Bonin Islands Grosbeak is an extinct finch, the only species of the genus Chaunoproctus. It is one of the diverse bird taxa that are vernacularly called "grosbeaks", but it is not closely related to the Coccothraustes....
         (extinct)
      • Genus Callacanthis - Spectacled Finch
        Spectacled Finch

        The Spectacled Finch is a species of finch in the Fringillidae family. It is found in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is temperate forests....
      • Genus Neospiza - Sao Tomé Grosbeak
        São Tomé Grosbeak

        The S?o Tom? Grosbeak, Neospiza concolor, is a large, chunky finch with a massive bill. It is endemic to the island of S?o Tom? Island.Until recently this bird was known only from three nineteenth century specimens....


  • Subfamily Drepanidinae - Hawaiian honeycreeper
    Hawaiian honeycreeper

    Hawaiian honeycreepers are small passerine birds Endemism to Hawaii. Some authorities still categorize this group as a family Drepanididae, but in recent years most authorities consider them a Family , Drepanidinae, of Fringillidae, the finch family....
    s. Usually treated as a separate family but biochemical studies (Arnaiz-Villena et al, 2007) place them as a well-defined clade deep within the Carduelines.


  • Subfamily Euphoniinae
    Euphoniinae

    Euphoniinae is a subfamily of finches endemic to the Neotropics. It contains two genera, Euphonia and Chlorophonia....
     - Euphonious finches; endemic to the Neotropics; formerly treated in Thraupidae.
    • Genus Euphonia
      Euphonia

      Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They share the subfamily Euphoniinae with the chlorophonias....
      , the euphonia
      Euphonia

      Euphonias are members of the genus Euphonia, a group of Neotropical birds in the finch family. They share the subfamily Euphoniinae with the chlorophonias....
      s
    • Genus Chlorophonia
      Chlorophonia

      Chlorophonia is the name of a genus of finches endemic to the Neotropics. The English group name for the five species that constitute the genus is also chlorophonia....
      , the chlorophonia
      Chlorophonia

      Chlorophonia is the name of a genus of finches endemic to the Neotropics. The English group name for the five species that constitute the genus is also chlorophonia....
      s


External links

  • on the Internet Bird Collection