The Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (''Fringilla polatzeki'') is a species of

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 t ...

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 lightweigh ...

in the

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family 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 usua ...

family Fringillidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Taxonomy

Until 2015, the species ''Fringilla teydea'' was classified with two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: ''Fringilla teydea polatzeki'' from Gran Canaria and ''Fringilla teydea teydea'' from Tenerife. However, a study published in March 2016 showed that a classification as different

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

, ''Frigilla polatzeki'' and ''Fringilla teydea'', is justified.George Sangster, Felipe Rodríguez Godoy, C. S. Roselaar, Magnus S. Robb y Jolanda A. Luksenbur
«Integrative taxonomy reveals Europe’s rarest songbird species, the Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch ''Fringilla polatzeki''.»
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Description

Gran Canaria blue chaffinches resemble

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 in ...

es, and are smaller in size than Tenerife blue chaffinches. Other differences are that they have two white bands in the wings, a whiter belly, or less blue shades. Females are a dull grey-brown.

Distribution

This bird is found only in the highlands of Gran Canaria, mainly in the Inagua Natural Reserve. The species' primary habitat is mountain

Canary Island pine ''Pinus canariensis'', the Canary Island pine, is a species of gymnosperm in the conifer family Pinaceae. It is a large, evergreen tree, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Description ''Pinus canariensis'' is a ...

(''Pinus canariensis'') forest in 1.000 m. It is most common in coniferous forest areas with dense, old trees.

Behavior

It primarily eats

seeds. Like the common chaffinch, but, unlike most other finches, its young are fed extensively on insects. Breeding from the end of April to late July or early August, it builds a nest from pine needles and

broom A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

branches and lays two eggs. This bird is not migratory.

In danger of extinction

The Gran Canaria blue chaffinch is one of the most endangered species of birds on the planet. Unlike the

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 Is ...

, which has a much wider distribution and compared to that island's population of its species, the Gran Canaria blue chaffinch has an extremely smaller population and is restricted to the area of the pine forests of Ojeda, Inagua and Pajonales.Un experto plantea que el pinzón azul de Gran Canaria sea especie única
/ref>

References

External links

Article: "The Blue Chaffinch of Gran Canaria ''Fringilla teydea polatzeki'': what next?"The bird in FacebookDocumentary "El pinzón azul de Gran Canaria: biología y conservación del ave más amenazada de Canarias" (1995)Play list
{{Gran Canaria

Gran Canaria blue chaffinch The Gran Canaria blue chaffinch (''Fringilla polatzeki'') is a species of passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is endemic to Gran Canaria in Spain's Canary Islands. Taxonomy Until 2015, the species ''Fringilla teydea'' was classi ...

Birds of the Canary Islands

Fauna of Gran Canaria