| True finch |
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Adult male Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
of the Fringillinae |
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| Family: | Fringillidae
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Finches arepasserinesongbirds in thefamilyFringillidae.[1] They are mostlyseed-eaters. Thescientific name Fringillidae comes from theLatin wordfringilla for theChaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), which is common inEurope.
Mostspecies are native to theSouthern Hemisphere, but onesubfamily isendemic to the Neotropics, one to theHawaiian Islands, and onegenus is found only in the Palaearctic (Eurasia and north Africa).
Many birds in other families are also commonly called "finches" They include
- • somespecies in the very similar-lookingwaxbills (familyPasseridae, of the Old World tropics andAustralia;
- • several groups of the bunting and American sparrow family (Emberizidae);
- •Darwin's 'finches' of theGalapagos Islands, which provided evidence ofnatural selection. They are now recognized to be peculiartanagers (Thraupidae).[2][3]
Some species are being imported or smuggled into other countries and sold as exotic pets.
- Fringillinae:Fringilla
- Carduelinae:
- Grosbeaks
- American rosefinches
- Bullfinches
- Arid-zone clade
- Asian rosefinches
- Goldfinch-canary-crossbill clade
- Drepanidinae: Hawaiian honeycreepers
- Euphoniinae: Euphonious finches
Hawfinch (
Coccothraustes coccothraustes), one of the northern grosbeaks
Pallas'
Rosefinch (
Carpodacus roseus), a true rosefinch
- ↑Though the word 'finch' is sometimes used for birds from other families.
- ↑Newton, Ian 1973.Finches (New Naturalist series). Taplinger.ISBN 0-8008-2720-1
- ↑Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan & Davis, John 1993.Finches and Sparrows: an identification guide. Christopher Helm, London.ISBN 0-7136-8017-2
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