The true finches are small to medium-sized

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usually resident and do not migrate. They have a worldwide distribution except for Australia and the polar regions. The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

. It includes species known as siskins, canaries, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias. Many birds in other families are also commonly called "finches". These groups include the

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...

es ( Estrildidae) of the Old World tropics and Australia; some members of the Old World

bunting Bunting may refer to: Animals Birds * Bunting (bird) or Emberizidae, a family of Eurasian and African passerine birds * New World buntings or ''Passerina'', a genus of American passerine birds in the family Cardinalidae * Blue bunting, a species ...

family ( Emberizidae) and the New World sparrow family (

Passerellidae New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns. Although they share t ...

); and the

Darwin's finches Darwin's finches (also known as the Galápagos finches) are a group of about 18 species of passerine birds. They are well known for their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. They are often classified as the subfamily Geospizinae or t ...

of the Galapagos islands, now considered members of the

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotrop ...

family (

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotrop ...

).Newton (1973), Clement ''et al.'' (1993) Finches and canaries were used in the UK, US and Canada in the

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

industry to detect

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

from the eighteenth to twentieth century. This practice ceased in the UK in 1986.

Systematics and taxonomy

The taxonomy of the finch family, in particular the cardueline finches, has a long and complicated history. The study of the relationship between the

taxa In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

has been confounded by the recurrence of similar morphologies due to the convergence of species occupying similar niches. In 1968 the American ornithologist

Raymond Andrew Paynter, Jr. Raymond Andrew Paynter Jr. (29 November 1925 – 10 July 2003) was an American ornithologist and curator at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University (1961–1999). Biography Paynter was born in New York City where he was educated at ...

wrote:

Limits of the genera and relationships among the species are less understood – and subject to more controversy – in the carduelines than in any other species of passerines, with the possible exception of the estrildines axbills

Beginning around 1990 a series of phylogenetic studies based on

mitochondrial A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

and nuclear DNA sequences resulted in substantial revisions in the taxonomy. Several groups of birds that had previously been assigned to other families were found to be related to the finches. The

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

'' Euphonia'' and the ''Chlorophonia'' were formerly placed in the tanager family

due to their similar appearance but analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed that both genera were more closely related to the finches. They are now placed in a separate subfamily Euphoniinae within the Fringillidae. The Hawaiian honeycreepers were at one time placed in their own family, Drepanididae but were found to be closely related to the '' Carpodacus'' rosefinches and are now placed within the Carduelinae subfamily. The three largest genera, '' Carpodacus'', '' Carduelis'' and '' Serinus'' were found to be

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

. Each was split into

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

genera. The American rosefinches were moved from ''Carpodacus'' to '' Haemorhous''. ''Carduelis'' was split by moving the greenfinches to ''

Chloris In Greek mythology, the name Chloris (; Greek Χλωρίς ''Chlōrís'', from χλωρός ''chlōrós'', meaning "greenish-yellow", "pale green", "pale", "pallid", or "fresh") appears in a variety of contexts. Some clearly refer to different char ...

'' and a large clade into '' Spinus'' leaving just three species in the original genus. Thirty seven species were moved from ''Serinus'' to '' Crithagra'' leaving eight species in the original genus. Today the family Fringillidae is divided into three subfamilies, the Fringillinae containing a single

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

with the chaffinches, the Carduelinae containing 183 species divided into 49 genera, and the Euphoniinae containing the ''Euphonia'' and the '' Chlorophonia''. Although Przewalski's "rosefinch" (''Urocynchramus pylzowi'') has ten primary flight feathers rather than the nine primaries of other finches, it was sometimes classified in the Carduelinae. It is now assigned to a distinct family, Urocynchramidae, monotypic as to genus and species, and with no particularly close relatives among the

Passeroidea Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri (standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder). While more recent research suggests that its sister parvor ...

Fossil record

Fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains of true finches are rare, and those that are known can mostly be assigned to extant

at least. Like the other Passeroidea families, the true finches seem to be of roughly Middle Miocene origin, around 20 to 10

million years ago The abbreviation Myr, "million years", is a unit of a quantity of (i.e. ) years, or 31.556926 teraseconds. Usage Myr (million years) is in common use in fields such as Earth science and cosmology. Myr is also used with Mya (million years ago). ...

(Ma). An unidentifable finch fossil from the

Messinian The Messinian is in the geologic timescale the last age or uppermost stage of the Miocene. It spans the time between 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma and 5.333 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Tortonian and is followed by the Zanclean, the fir ...

age, around 12 to 7.3

(Ma) during the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The ...

subepoch, has been found at

Polgárdi Polgárdi is a town in Fejér county, Hungary, reportedly the site where the Sevso Treasure was discovered. Geography Polgárdi is located at an altitude of about 144 metres, about 12 kilometres northeast of Lake Balaton, a resort area in wes ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Etymology

The scientific name Fringillidae comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word ''fringilla'' for the

common chaffinch The common chaffinch or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued ...

(''Fringilla coelebs''), a member of the family which is common in Europe. The name was coined (as Fringilladæ) by the English zoologist

William Elford Leach William Elford Leach FRS (2 February 1791 – 25 August 1836) was an English zoologist and marine biologist. Life and work Elford Leach was born at Hoe Gate, Plymouth, the son of an attorney. At the age of twelve he began a medical appren ...

in a guide to the contents of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

published in 1820. The name of the author is not specified in the document but Leach was the Keeper of Zoology at the time. The study of this family is known as Fringillology.

Description

The smallest "classical" true finches are the Andean siskin (''Spinus spinescens'') at as little as 9.5 cm (3.8 in) and the lesser goldfinch (''Spinus psaltria'') at as little as . The largest species is probably the collared grosbeak (''Mycerobas affinis'') at up to and , although larger lengths, to in the pine grosbeak (''Pinicola enucleator''), and weights, to in the evening grosbeak (''Hesperiphona vespertina''), have been recorded in species which are slightly smaller on average.''Finches and Sparrows'' by Peter Clement. Princeton University Press (1999). .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . They typically have strong, stubby

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for fo ...

s, which in some species can be quite large; however, Hawaiian honeycreepers are famous for the wide range of bill shapes and sizes brought about by

adaptive radiation In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic int ...

. All true finches have 9 primary remiges and 12 rectrices. The basic

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

colour is brownish, sometimes greenish; many have considerable amounts of black, while white plumage is generally absent except as wing-bars or other signalling marks. Bright yellow and red

carotenoid Carotenoids (), also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, cor ...

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic comp ...

s are commonplace in this family, and thus blue structural colours are rather rare, as the yellow pigments turn the blue color into green. Many, but by no means all true finches have strong

sexual dichromatism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

, the females typically lacking the bright carotenoid markings of males.

Distribution and habitat

The finches have a near-global distribution, being found across the Americas, Eurasia and Africa, as well as some island groups such as the Hawaiian islands. They are absent from Australasia, Antarctica, the Southern Pacific and the islands of the Indian Ocean, although some European species have been widely introduced in Australia and New Zealand. Finches are typically inhabitants of well-wooded areas, but some can be found on mountains or even in deserts.

Behaviour

The finches are primarily granivorous, but euphoniines include considerable amounts of

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s and

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

in their diet, and Hawaiian honeycreepers evolved to utilize a wide range of food sources, including nectar. The diet of Fringillidae nestlings includes a varying amount of small arthropods. True finches have a bouncing flight like most small

s, alternating bouts of flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well and several are commonly seen cagebirds; foremost among these is the

domesticated Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...

canary (''Serinus canaria domestica''). The nests are basket-shaped and usually built in trees, more rarely in bushes, between rocks or on similar substrate.

List of genera

The family Fringillidae contains 231 species divided into 50 genera and three subfamilies. The subfamily Carduelinae includes 18 extinct Hawaiian honeycreepers and the extinct Bonin grosbeak. See List of Fringillidae species for further details. Subfamily Fringillinae * '' Fringilla'' – 3 species of chaffinch and the brambling Subfamily Carduelinae * '' Mycerobas'' – 4 Palearctic grosbeaks * '' Coccothraustes'' – 3 species * '' Eophona'' – 2 oriental grosbeaks, the Chinese and the Japanese grosbeak * '' Pinicola'' – pine grosbeak * '' Pyrrhula'' – 8 bullfinch species * ''

Rhodopechys Rhodopechys is a genus of finches containing the following two species: The desert finch, ''Carduelis obsoleta'' (formerly ''Rhodopechys obsoleta''), has turned out to belong to the (sub)genus ''Chloris'' in the genus '' Carduelis'' as indi ...

'' – 2 species, the Asian crimson-winged finch and the

African crimson-winged finch The African crimson-winged finch (''Rhodopechys alienus'') is a pale-colored thickset finch with a heavy, dull yellowish bill. It is found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the Asian cr ...

* ''

Bucanetes Bucanetes is a genus of passerine birds in the finch family. It contains two species: The genus name is from Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from arou ...

'' –

trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and the Mongolian finch * '' Agraphospiza'' – Blanford's rosefinch * ''

Callacanthis The spectacled finch (''Callacanthis burtoni'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in temperate northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, ranging across Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is ...

'' – spectacled finch * ''

Pyrrhoplectes The golden-naped finch (''Pyrrhoplectes epauletta'') is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is in monotypic genus ''Pyrrhoplectes''. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal. Its natural habitat is temperate forest. ...

'' – golden-naped finch * '' Procarduelis'' – dark-breasted rosefinch * '' Leucosticte'' – 6 species of mountain and rosy finches * '' Carpodacus'' – 28

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

rosefinch species * Hawaiian honeycreeper group (tribe Drepanidini) **''Melamprosops'' – contains a single extinct species, the po'ouli ** '' Paroreomyza'' – 3 species, the Oahu alauahio, the Maui alauahio and the extinct kakawahie ** ''Oreomystis'' – akikiki ** '' Telespiza'' – 4 species, the Laysan finch, the Nihoa finch, and 2 prehistoric species ** '' Loxioides'' – 2 species, the palila and a prehistoric species ** '' Rhodacanthis'' – 2 recently extinct species, the lesser and the greater koa finch, and 2 prehistoric species ** ''Chloridops'' – extinct species, the Kona grosbeak ** ''Psittirostra'' – ou ** ''Dysmorodrepanis'' – extinct species, the Lanai hookbill ** '' Drepanis'' – 2 extinct species, the Hawaii mamo and the black mamo, and the extant iiwi ** '' Ciridops'' – single recently extinct species, the Ula-ai-hawane, and 3 prehistoric species ** '' Palmeria'' – contains a single species, the akohekohe ** '' Himatione'' – 2 species, the apapane and the extinct Laysan honeycreeper ** ''Viridonia'' – single extinct species, the

greater amakihi Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality * ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record * "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014 *Greater Bank, an Australian ...

** '' Akialoa'' – 4 recently extinct species, and 2 prehistoric species ** '' Hemignathus'' – 4 species, only one of which is extant ** ''

Pseudonestor The Maui parrotbill or kiwikiu (''Pseudonestor xanthophrys'') is a species of Hawaiian honeycreeper endemic to the island of Maui in Hawaii. It can only be found in of mesic and wet forests at on the windward slopes of Haleakalā. This speci ...

'' – Maui parrotbill ** '' Magumma'' – anianiau ** '' Loxops'' – 5 species, of which one is extinct ** '' Chlorodrepanis'' – 3 species, the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

and

Kauai amakihi Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

* '' Haemorhous'' – 3 North America rosefinches * ''

'' – 6 greenfinches * '' Rhodospiza'' – desert finch * '' Rhynchostruthus'' – 3 golden-winged grosbeaks * '' Linurgus'' – oriole finch * '' Crithagra'' – 37 species of canaries, serins and siskins from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula * ''

Linaria ''Linaria'' is a genus of almost 200 species of flowering plants, one of several related groups commonly called toadflax. They are annuals and herbaceous perennials, and the largest genus in the Antirrhineae tribe of the plantain family Pla ...

'' – 4 species including the twite and three linnets * '' Acanthis'' – 3 redpolls * '' Loxia'' – 6 crossbills * '' Chrysocorythus'' – 2 species * '' Carduelis'' – 3 species including the European goldfinch * '' Serinus'' – 8 species including the

European serin The European serin, or simply the serin (''Serinus serinus''), is the smallest European species of the family of finches (Fringillidae) and is closely related to the Atlantic canary. Its diet consists mainly of a combination of buds and seeds. ...

* '' Spinus'' – 20 species including the North American goldfinches and the Eurasian siskin Subfamily Euphoniinae * '' Euphonia'' – 27 species all with euphonia in their English name * '' Chlorophonia'' – 5 species all with chlorophonia in their English name

Gallery

File:Coccothraustes coccothraustes 1 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg, Hawfinch (''Coccothraustes coccothraustes''), one of the Holarctic grosbeaks File:Cassin's Finch (male).jpg,

Cassin's finch Cassin's finch (''Haemorhous cassinii'') is a bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are placed in the genus ''Haemorhous''. Description Measurements: * Length: 6.3 in (16 cm) * Weight: 0. ...

(''Haemorhous cassinii''), an American rosefinch File:Carpodacus roseus.jpg,

Pallas' rosefinch Pallas's rosefinch (''Carpodacus roseus'') is a species of bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is found in China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, and Russia. Birds are occasionally reported from further west and there are records from ...

(''Carpodacus roseus''), a true rosefinch File:PINTASSILGO ( Carduelis magellanica ).jpg, Hooded siskin (''Spinus magellanicus'') File:Vestiaria coccinea -Hawaii -adult-8 (4).jpg, ʻIʻiwi (''Drepanis coccinea''), a Hawaiian honeycreeper File:Euphonia violacea-2.jpg, Male violaceous euphonia (''Euphonia violacea'') File:Carduelis carduelis close up.jpg, European goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis'') File:Chloris chloris.jpg, European greenfinch (''Chloris chloris'') File:Pinzón azul de Gran Canaria (macho), M. A. Peña.jpg, Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (''Fringilla polatzeki'') File:Teidefink.jpg,

Tenerife blue chaffinch The Tenerife blue chaffinch (''Fringilla teydea'') is a species of passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is endemic to Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands. This bird is the natural symbol of this island, together with the Canary Isla ...

(''Fringilla teydea'') File:Euphonia elegantissima.jpg, Elegant euphonia (''Euphonia elegantissima'') File:Desert Finch - Uzbekistan S4E7626-2 (23039952955).jpg, Desert finch (''Rhodospiza obsoleta'') File:Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator) (13667564073).jpg, Pine grosbeak (''Pinicola enucleator'') File:Hesperiphona vespertina CT3.jpg, Evening grosbeak (''Hesperiphona vespertina'') File:Chloris spinoides.jpg,

Yellow-breasted greenfinch The yellow-breasted greenfinch (''Chloris spinoides'') is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae that is native to the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. Taxonomy The yellow-breasted greenfinch was described by the Irish z ...

(''Chloris spinoides'') File:Serinus flaviventris 2013 03 09.jpg,

Yellow canary The yellow canary (''Crithagra flaviventris'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in much of the western and central regions of southern Africa and has been introduced to Ascension and St Helena islands. ...

(''Crithagra flaviventris'') File:Streaky Seedeater, Ngorongoro Crater (8495906768).jpg, Streaky seedeater (''Crithagra striolata'') File:Fringilla coelebs moreletti.png, Azores chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs moreletti'')

References

Sources

* Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davis, John (1993): ''Finches and Sparrows: an identification guide''. Christopher Helm, London. * * * * Newton, Ian (1973): ''Finches'' (New Naturalist series). Taplinger Publishing.

External links

Internet Bird Collection.com: Finch videos, photos, and soundsNational Finch and Softbill Society website
— ''organization promoting finch breeding''. * {{Authority control Miocene birds Quaternary birds Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by William Elford Leach