The true finches are passerine
birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly
seed-eating songbirds.
Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic
to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily
monotypic at genus level is found only in the Palaearctic.
Many birds in other families are also commonly called "finches",
including some species in the very similar-looking waxbills
or estrildid finches, family Passeridae, subfamily Estrildinae,
of the Old World tropics and Australia; several groups
of the bunting and American sparrow family, Emberizidae;
and Darwin's finches of the Galapagos islands,
tanagers, Thraupidae.
Subfamily Fringillinae
Genus Fringilla, fringilline finches. Three species, which
feed their young on insects and few if any seed
Chaffinch Fringilla
coelebs, No. Bokfink
Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea, No: Blåfink
Brambling Fringilla
montifringilla, No: Bjørkefink
Subfamily Carduelinae
cardueline finches. A much larger group that contains
several genera which feed their young mainly on seeds. This
subfamily consists of several well-defined clades.
Typical grosbeaks
Genus Eophona Oriental grosbeaks
Genus Coccothraustes Holarctic grosbeaks (polyphyletic?)
Genus Mycerobas Mycerobas grosbeaks
American rosefinches
Genus "Carpodacus" House Finch, Cassin's
Finch, and Purple Finch,
Bullfinches
Genus Pinicola Pine Grosbeak,
Genus Pyrrhula bullfinches
Orange Bullfinch, Pyrrhula aurantiaca (Range : Kashmir)
Grey-headed Bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythaca (Range : Western China,
Tibet)
Red-headed Bullfinch, Pyrrhula erythrocephala (Range: Himalayas)
White-cheeked Bullfinch, Pyrrhula leucogenis (Range : Philippines)
Azores Bullfinch, Pyrrhula murina (Range : São Miguel
Island, Azores)
Brown Bullfinch, Pyrrhula nipalensis (Range : Himalayas, northern
Myanmar and Northwest Yunnan)
Common (Eurasian) Bullfinch,
Pyrrhula pyrrhula, No: Dompapp. (Range : very wide, from Asia
to Europe)
Grey (Baikal) Bullfinch, Pyrrhula cineracea (Range : Siberia,
Far East)
Ussuri (Oriental) Bullfinch, Pyrrhula griseiventris (Range :
Far East)
Arid-zone clade
Genus Leucosticte mountain finches
Genus N.N. Dark-breasted Rosefinch, "Carpodacus"
nipalensis
Genus Rhodopechys Trumpeter Finch and relatives
Asian rosefinches
Genus Carpodacus rosefinches (Genus in need of
substantial revision. May consist of two or more genera; alternatively
may include Haematospiza and Uragus)
Genus Haematospiza Scarlet Finch
Genus Uragus streaked rosefinches
Goldfinch-canary-crossbill clade (Carduelis and
Serinus are polyphyletic and are probably best regarded as a
collection of independent sub-groups or genera.)
Genus Serinus sensu lato canaries, African seedeaters,
serins and African siskins
(Sub)Genus Serinus sensu stricto European Serin
and relatives
(Sub)Genus Crithagra Afrotropical canaries, African
seedeaters, citrils
Genus Linurgus Oriole Finch (possibly basal to
Crithagra)
Genus Rhynchostruthus golden-winged grosbeaks
(tentatively placed here)
Genus "Serinus" thibetanus Tibetan Serin
(probably related to Spinus and Serinus sensu stricto)
Genus Carduelis sensu lato
(Sub)Genus Carduelis sensu stricto
European Goldfinch,
Carduelis carduelis, No: Stillits
Citril Finch, Carduelis citrinella - formerly Serinus citrinellus
Corsican Finch, Carduelis corsicana - formerly Serinus corsicanus.
(probably only distantly related to Spinus)
(Sub)Genus Spinus siskins and American goldfinches
Spinus group - American goldfinches and siskins
American goldfinches
American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis
Lesser Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria
Lawrence's Goldfinch, Carduelis lawrencei
Northern siskins
Eurasian Siskin, or Spruce Siskin, Carduelis spinus
Pine Siskin, Carduelis pinus
Black-capped Siskin, Carduelis atriceps
Antillean Siskin, Carduelis dominicensis
Neotropical siskins
Andean Siskin, Carduelis spinescens
Black Siskin,
Carduelis atrata
Black-chinned
Siskin, Carduelis barbata
Black-headed Siskin, Carduelis notata
Hooded Siskin, Carduelis magellanica
Santa Cruz Siskin,
Carduelis (magellanica) santaecrucis
Olivaceous Siskin, Carduelis olivacea
Red Siskin, Carduelis cucullata
Saffron Siskin, Carduelis siemiradzkii
Thick-billed Siskin, Carduelis crassirostris
Yellow-bellied Siskin, Carduelis xanthogastra
Yellow-faced Siskin, Carduelis yarrellii
Yellow-rumped Siskin, Carduelis uropygialis
(Sub)Genus Linaria linnets and twite (related
to Spinus)
Eurasian Linnet, Carduelis cannabina
Warsangli Linnet, Carduelis johannis
Yemen Linnet, Carduelis yemenensis
Twite, Carduelis flavirostris
(Sub)Genus Chloris greenfinches and Desert Finch
Black-headed Greenfinch, Carduelis ambigua
European Greenfinch,
Carduelis chloris, No: Grønnfink
Oriental Greenfinch, Carduelis sinica
Vietnam Greenfinch, Carduelis monguilloti
Yellow-breasted Greenfinch, Carduelis spinoides
The Desert Finch, Carduelis obsoleta, has recently turned out
be a primitive form in this group (Zamora et al., 2006).
(Sub)Genus Acanthis redpolls (related to Loxia)
Arctic Redpoll, or Hoary Redpoll,
Carduelis hornemanni, No: Polarsisik
Common Redpoll, or Mealy Redpoll,
Carduelis flammea, No: Gråsisik
Carduelis flammea
exilipes ·
Carduelis flammea flammea ·
Carduelis flammea holboellii ·
Carduelis flammea hornemanni ·
Carduelis flammea linaria ·
Carduelis flammea rostrata
Lesser Redpoll, Carduelis
cabaret No: Liten gråsisik
(Sub)Genus Loxia crossbills
Parrot Crossbill, Loxia pytyopsittacus
Scottish Crossbill, Loxia scotica
Common Crossbill or Red Crossbill, Loxia curvirostra
Two-barred Crossbill or White-winged crossbill, Loxia leucoptera
Hispaniolan Crossbill, Loxia megaplaga
Carduelinae
incertae sedis
Genus Pyrrhoplectes Gold-naped Finch
Genus Chaunoproctus Bonin Grosbeak (extinct:
1830s)
Genus Callacanthis Spectacled Finch
Genus Neospiza Sao Tomé Grosbeak
Subfamily Drepanidinae
Hawaiian honeycreepers. Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands;
formerly often treated as a separate family.
Some 10-12 living genera, about 7 recently extinct
Subfamily Euphoniinae
Euphonious finches. Endemic to the Neotropics; formerly
placed in Thraupidae. Genus Euphonia euphonias
Genus Chlorophonia chlorophonias
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Recent taxonomical changes
On December 18, 2009, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, in its authority
as custodian of the Clement's Checklist,
made the following statement: "In accord with NACC, here we split
the genus Carduelis into four genera:
Carduelis (linnets and twites),
Spinus (siskins),
Acanthis (redpolls),
Chloris (greenfinches).
Similar revisions will need to be made with respect to Carpodacus
and Serinus, but we defer making those changes until a
later date.". This follows a similar change that was published
in the 50th supplement to the AOU Checklist of American Birds, "
The subgenera Acanthis and Spinus are elevated to genera,
and the genus Chloris is split from the genus Carduelis."[4]
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