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Fringillinae

(Subfamily)

Overview

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The genus Fringilla is a small group of , which are the only species in the subfamily Fringillinae The three species, which feed their young on insects rather than seeds, are:

The other much larger subfamily is the Cardueline finches in the subfamily Carduelinae which feed their young on seeds.

The Fringilla finches are seed-eating passerine birds restricted to the Old World. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, but feed largely on the ground.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Subfamily Fringillinae is a member of the Family Fringillidae. Here is the complete "parentage" of Fringillinae:

The Subfamily Fringillinae is further organized into finer groupings including:

Genera

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Akialoa

Hemignathus is a genus in the finch family, Fringillidae. These birds are endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. [more]

Callacanthis

The Spectacled Finch (Callacanthis burtoni) is a species of in the Fringillidae family. It is found in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. [more]

Carduelis

The Carduelis is a large group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae. It includes the greenfinches, redpolls, goldfinches, linnets, the twite, and the non-African siskins. No species of this group ranges far into Africa (where they are replaced by the related genus Serinus), and the centers of evolution were probably Eurasia and North America, with a secondary radiation in the Neotropics. [more]

Carpodacus

The rosefinches are in the finch family Fringillidae. Most Carpodacus species are so named, but three common North American ones are not. As the names imply, various shades of red are the characteristic plumage colors of this group. [more]

Chaunoproctus

The Bonin Grosbeak or Bonin Islands Grosbeak (Chaunoproctus ferreorostris) is an finch, the only species of the genus Chaunoproctus. It is one of the diverse bird taxa that are vernacularly called "grosbeaks", but it is not closely related to the grosbeaks sensu stricto. It was a retiring, although not shy bird, and was usually found singly or in pairs. It fed on fruits and buds which were primarily picked up from the ground or low shrubs; it rarely was observed to perch in trees, being apparently rather phlegmatic and somewhat reluctant to fly. Only one kind of vocalization has been described: a soft, pure and high note, sometimes short, sometimes drawn out; sometimes given singly, sometimes in a short series. [more]

Chloridops

Chloridops is an extinct genus of birds. It comprised three species: two on the of Hawaii and one that inhabited Kauai, Oahu and Maui. The genus includes the following three species: [more]

Chloris

A genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Ciridops

Ciridops is an extinct genus of species that occurred in prehistoric and historic times on the Hawaiian islands of Hawai'i, Molokai, Kauai and Oahu. This genus was created in 1892 by Alfred Newton in an article published by the journal Nature on the basis of the ?Ula-?ai-Hawane, which was named Fringilla anna by Sanford B. Dole in 1879. [more]

Coccothraustes

Coccothraustes is a genus of large containing three species: [more]

Drepanis

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Eophona

The Oriental (Eophona) are a genus of finches containing two species: [more]

Fringilla

The genus Fringilla is a small group of , which are the only species in the subfamily Fringillinae The three species, which feed their young on insects rather than seeds, are: [more]

Haematospiza

The Scarlet Finch (Haematospiza sipahi) is a species of in the Fringillidae family. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. [more]

Hemignathus

[more]

Hesperiphona

Coccothraustes is a genus of large containing three species: [more]

Himatione

[more]

Leucosticte

The mountain finches are in the genus Leucosticte from the true finch family, Fringillidae. This genus also includes the rosy finches, named from their pinkish plumage. They are apparently closely related to the bullfinches (Marten & Johnson, 1986) and to the Pine Grosbeak (Arnaiz-Villena et al., 2001), diverging from them not quite a dozen million years ago, at the end of the Middle Miocene. [more]

Linurgus

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Loxia

The crossbills are birds in the family Fringillidae. The three to five (or possibly many more) species are all classified in the genus Loxia. These birds are characterised by the mandibles crossing at their tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange in color, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation. [more]

Loxioides

Loxioides is a genus of in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae. It contains the following species: [more]

Loxops

Loxops is a genus in the finch family, Fringillidae. [more]

Melamprosops

The Poouli or Black-faced Honeycreeper (Melamprosops phaeosoma) is a bird that is endemic to Hawai?i. It is considered to be a member of the Drepanidinae (Hawaiian honeycreeper) subfamily, and is the only member of its genus Melamprosops. The vernacular name (often erroneously spelled "po?o-uli", "poouli", "po?o?uli", "pouli" or "poo-uli") dates from the bird's discovery in 1973 and means 'dark head', referring to the bird's characteristic feature, a black 'bandit' mask. This is no original Hawaiian name. [more]

Mycerobas

The Mycerobas are a genus of finch in the Fringillidae family. It contains the following species: [more]

Neospiza

A Genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]

Oreomystis

Oreomystis is a genus of in the Fringillidae family. It contains the following species: [more]

Palmeria

[more]

Paroreomyza

Paroreomyza is a genus of in the Fringillidae family. It contains the following species: [more]

Pinicola

Pinicola is a possibly genus of "grosbeaks" of the true finch family, Fringillidae. It is closely related to the true bullfinches (Pyrrhula) and the Holarctic mountain finches (Leucosticte). [more]

Pseudonestor

Pseudonestor is a genus of in the Fringillidae family. It contains the following species: [more]

Psittirostra

The o?u (Psittirostra psittacea), is a species of finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, that is endemic to the Hawaiian islands. There are no recent records, and it may be extinct. [more]

Pyrrhoplectes

The Gold-naped Finch (Pyrrhoplectes epauletta) is a species of in the Fringillidae family. Its genus Pyrrhoplectes is monotypic. [more]

Pyrrhula

Pyrrhula is a small genus of birds, commonly called Bullfinches, belonging to the finch family (Fringillidae). [more]

Rhodacanthis

Rhodacanthis is an genus of finches in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae. All four species were endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Members of this genus were granivores, with bills adapted to the seeds and seed pods of legumes. The two species that became extinct in the 1890s, R. flaviceps and R. palmeri, inhabited upper elevation mesic forests of Koa (Acacia koa) on the island of Hawaii. Both were large birds; R. flaviceps measured 19 centimetres (7.5 in), while R. palmeri was 19 centimetres (7.5 in) in length. The combination of a giant bill with brightly-colored plumage (yellow for R. flaviceps, orange for R. palmeri) gave the males a very striking appearance. Koa seeds were the preferred food for the two species, but caterpillars were taken if necessary. The two prehistoric species, R. forfex and R. litotes, were denizens of more lowland tropical dry forests and scrubland on Kauai, Maui, and Oahu. It is speculated that koai?a (Acacia koaia) was an important food source for both species, as their range did not overlap with that of koa. Kanaloa (Kanaloa spp.) pods and 'a'ali'i (Dodonaea viscosa) berries were probably also eaten in addition to the occasional caterpillar. [more]

Rhodopechys

Rhodopechys is a genus of containing three species: [more]

Rhynchostruthus

The Rhynchostruthus is a small group of finches in the family Fringillinae. Commonly known as golden-winged grosbeaks, they are attractive, chunky, medium-sized, robust-billed songbirds restricted to the southern Arabian and northern Somalian regions. [more]

Serinus

The genus Serinus is a large genus of in the finch family Fringillidae found mostly in the Afrotropical region with some outlying species in Europe and Asia. The genus contains several species groups including canaries, seedeaters and the African siskins. The majority of species are small to medium sized birds with green and yellow, often streaky plumage though there are a few notable exceptions. [more]

Telespiza

Telespiza is a genus of in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanididae. All species in it are or were endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. [more]

Uragus

The Long-tailed Rosefinch (Uragus sibiricus) is a species of of the Fringillidae family, in the presently monotypic genus Uragus. Some other rosefinches might eventually be moved there, however. [more]

Vestiaria

The I?iwi or Scarlet Hawaiian Honeycreeper (Vestiaria coccinea) is a finch in the Hawaiian honeycreeper subfamily, Drepanidinae, and the only member of the genus Vestiaria. One of the most plentiful species of this family, many of which are endangered or extinct, the ?i?iwi is a highly recognizable symbol of Hawai?i. The ?i?iwi is the third most common native land bird in the Hawaiian Islands. There are large colonies of ?i?iwi on the islands of Hawai?i and Kaua?i, and smaller colonies on Moloka?i and O?ahu; ?i?iwi were extirpated from Lana?i in 1929. All together, the remaining populations add up to a total of 350,000 birds. [more]

Viridonia

[more]

At least 4 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Viridonia.

More info about the Genus Viridonia may be found here.

Sources

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Last Revised: September 22, 2009
2009/09/22 14:31:27