Fringilline finch
Fringilline finches are a group of birds belonging to the subfamily Fringillinae, which is part of the larger finch family, Fringillidae. They are characterized by their long tails, distinctive shoulder patches, and colorful plumage, particularly in males. These finches are typically found in woodlands and forests across Europe, North Africa, and western Asia, measuring about six inches in length and weighing around one ounce. They are known for their strong territorial behavior during breeding seasons, with males singing to attract mates and defend their nesting areas.
Fringilline finches primarily feed on seeds, which they are adept at crushing with their powerful beaks. They migrate south during winter months to seek food sources that are often covered by snow in their northern habitats. The nesting process involves the female building a cup-like nest, where she incubates a clutch of three to five eggs. After hatching, the nestlings are fed a diet rich in insects to support their growth. However, these finches face various threats, including habitat loss due to deforestation, agriculture, and urban development, which can impact their food sources and overall survival.
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Fringilline finch
Fringilline finches, the common name for finches in the subfamily Fringillinae, have long tails, shoulder patches, and wing markings that distinguish them from the other finches. Like other finches, they have been popular cage birds for years.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Fringilla
Species: Various (see below)
Fringillinae is one of three subfamilies, or distinct groups, within the general family of finches. There are eight species within the subfamily. Fringilline finches live in the woodlands and forests of Europe, North Africa, and western Asiaparts of the Old World. They are about six inches (15 centimeters) long and weigh one ounce (28 grams). In general, females are duller in color than males, which have very colorful plumage, or feathering. Both males and females have shoulder patches and markings on their wings and long tails. These finches also have peaked heads.
Pairs of male and female fringilline finches spread evenly throughout their habitat. Each pair defends a large territory surrounding their nest while they are breeding. The pair forages for seeds within their territory. A male calls and sings to attract his mate, and the two of them sing and call to warn other birds to stay out of their territory. Chaffinches have a loud, musical song of "chip" notes, and a "spink, spink" call. The brambling finches call "tswark" and "tchuck" and sing "dwee." Fringilline finches sing only within their territories.
The female builds a cup-like nest from grass, moss, and other vegetation, which she places in a tree or bush. Her three to five eggs are dark bluish-green and have purple-brown streaks and spots. The male does not sit on the eggs to incubate them, but lets the female perform this important duty for 12 to 14 days before they hatch. The young nestlings receive caterpillars and other insects from their parents, which the parents carry to the nest in their bills, either one at a time or several. The young eat every 5 to 10 minutes, and so the parents need to find a lot of insects and caterpillars so the young may grow. After they have eaten and grown stronger and larger for 11 to 17 days, the young fledge, or become fledglings. This means their wings are strong enough for the young to be able to fly for the first time.
Like other finch species, fringilline finches face threats from deforestation, agriculture, pollution, competition and predation by farm animals, and urban development. Agriculture may be good or bad. In some cases it uncovers seeds for the birds to eat, but at other times it may not provide as much food for them because it takes the place of plants from which they would pick seeds. The life spans of finches are uncertain because of all these dangers.
Fringilline finches eat seeds which they crush and peel with their strong, stout bills and powerful jaw muscles. The seed kernels drop into their gizzards (the muscular portion of their stomachs which grind the seeds).
Each winter, fringilline finches migrate south to find seeds on low plants that the snow may cover in the north. They travel along nearly the same routes each year and have strong senses of direction so that they often return to the same places year after year. Many of the fringilline species in Europe migrate south to the warmer regions around the Mediterranean Sea.
The eight species of this finch subfamily are:
Brambling finch Fringilla montifringilla
African chaffinch Fringilla spodiogenys
Azores chaffinch Fringilla moreletti
Maderian chaffinch Fringilla canariensis
Gran Canaria blue chaffinch Fringilla polatzeki
Tenerife blue chaffinch Fringilla teydea
Canary Islands chaffinch Fringilla teydea
Eurasian Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Bibliography
Bond, Kevin, and Larry Bond. “Genus: Fringilla.” eBirdr, ebirdr.com/tree/genus/fringilla. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
“Family Fringillidae.” Oiseaux Birds, www.oiseaux-birds.com/page-family-fringillidae.html. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
“Fringillinae.” Animalia, animalia.bio/fringillinae. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.