| Fringilla | |
|---|---|
 | |
| MaleEurasian chaffinch | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Fringillinae Leach, 1820 |
| Genus: | Fringilla Linnaeus,1758 |
| Type species | |
| Fringilla coelebs | |
| Species | |
ThegenusFringilla is a small group of eight species offinches from the Old World. It is the only genus in the subfamilyFringillinae.
ThegenusFringilla was described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeus in thetenth edition of hisSystema Naturae.[1] The genus nameFringilla isLatin for "finch".[2] Linnaeus included 30 species in the genus (Fringilla zena was listed twice) and of these theEurasian chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is considered as thetype species.[3]
By the early 20th century, the genus was considered to include just three species, with the other species included by Linnaeus transferred to other genera. In 2016, it was proposed that the extremely rare Gran Canaria blue chaffinch subspeciesF. teydea polatzeki be treated as a separate species, thus accepting a fourth species,F. polatzeki.[4][5]
A major genetic, morphological, and behavioural study in 2021 then divided the former common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebssensu lato) into five species,[6] so the genus is now accepted as containing eight species:[7]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | Fringilla coelebs | Eurasian chaffinch | Europe, across Asia to western Siberia; migrating south in winter to north Africa and northern India |
_male_Morocco.jpg) | Fringilla spodiogenys | African chaffinch | Northwestern Africa; nonmigratory |
.jpg) | Fringilla moreletti | Azores chaffinch | Azores; nonmigratory |
 | Fringilla maderensis | Madeira chaffinch | Madeira; nonmigratory |
 | Fringilla canariensis | Canary Islands chaffinch | Canary Islands; nonmigratory |
%2c_M._A._Pe%25C3%25B1a.jpg) | Fringilla polatzeki | Gran Canaria blue chaffinch | Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands; nonmigratory |
 | Fringilla teydea | Tenerife blue chaffinch | Tenerife in the Canary Islands; nonmigratory |
 | Fringilla montifringilla | Brambling | Northeastern Europe and northern Asia, migrating west and south in winter to western Europe, north Africa, northern India, northern Pakistan, China, and Japan |
The Eurasian chaffinch is found primarily in forest habitats, in Europe and western Asia; the other species formerly treated assubspecies of it occur in North Africa andMacaronesia; the blue chaffinches are islandendemics; and the brambling breeds in the northerntaiga and southerntundra ofEurasia.[8]
The eight species are all broadly similar size, 14–18 centimetres (5.5–7.1 in) in length, with brambling the smallest, and Tenerife blue chaffinch the largest; they are all similar in shape.[9][8] They have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings.[10] They are not as specialised as other finches, eating both insects and seeds. While breeding, they feed their young on insects rather than seeds, unlike other finches.[8]
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