Fringillidae: Finches, Euphonias, and Hawaiian Honeycreepers
The finches are a large and confusing family of songbirds most of which devote their lives to harvesting seeds with characteristically “finch-like” bills: deep-based and roughly triangular or conical. Despite being identified with a certain bill shape, the family as a whole exhibits extreme oral plasticity, including bills that are peculiarly adapted for opening certain types of seed-cones and others for drinking nectar.
Many types of finches thrive in harsh environments, including deserts, arctic tundra, alpine meadows, and boreal forests. Their adaptive focus on seed crops enables many species to survive beyond the tolerances of other songbirds, wintering at the highest elevations and latitudes.
Certain familiar temperate-zone finches, including Europe’s Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) and North America’s House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), are among the world’s commonest songbirds and most consistent patrons of backyard bird feeders, but most finches are much more specialized. Outstanding examples of specialization include the various crossbills, whose asymmetric bills are optimized to pry open certain types of seed-cones.
Genetic research has revealed that, in addition to typical seed-eating finches, the Fringillidae includes two groups that inhabit tropical forests and exploit an array of other food sources. The chlorophonias and euphonias of Latin America are brightly colored frugivores that were traditionally classified as tanagers (Thraupidae), and the Hawaiian honeycreepers are a diverse assortment that apparently descended from a single finch flock that arrived by accident about 5 million years ago and in a frenzy of adaptive radiation evolved to fill many niches.
Taxonomy
The Fringillidae are a notoriously complicated family with many unresolved taxonomic issues. They were traditionally regarded as consisting of two similar subfamilies: the vast majority being cardueline finches (Carduelinae), plus a small handful of chaffinches (Fringillinae) which differ mainly in details of their internal anatomy. It was also suspected that the Hawaiian honeycreepers were a third subfamily (Drepanidinae) that had split from the carduelines, although the consensus view was to recognize the Hawaiian clan as its own separate family.
The taxonomic understanding changed dramatically when mitochondrial DNA studies determined that the carduelines are more closely related to the Neotropical euphonias (Euphoniinae) than they are to the fringillines—which effectively substituted the euphonias for the Hawaiian honeycreepers as the family’s tropical cousins. Perhaps more surprising, the studies determined that the entire array of Hawaiian honeycreepers are a recent branch within the carduelines, so the banana-billed I’iwi (Drepanis coccinea) is a closer relative of most finches than either the finch-billed Common Chaffinch or Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes) is.
At the species level, the Fringillidae include a few groups in the process of speciation, whose diversity was long overlooked. For example, the chaffinches were always regarded as three species, but are trending toward ten. The family also includes the most challenging taxonomic puzzle in North American ornithology, the Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra). Where a single species was believed to occur throughout the coniferous forests of North America and Eurasia, there may be up to 22 (or possibly more not yet recognized) Red Crossbill species—but they are so similar-looking and otherwise confusing that as of 2020 only two localized forms had been recognized as separate.
The total number of fringillid species, as currently understood, is in the range of 206 to 254 (plus 23 extinct), in three subfamilies, one of which is subdivided into five tribes:
Fringillinae: Chaffinches (4 to 10 species)
Euphoniinae: Euphonias (34 to 36 species)
Carduelinae: Typical finches (168 to 208 species, plus 23 extinct)
Coccothraustini: Grosbeak-finches (9 species)
Pyrrhulini: Rosy finches (22 to 32 species)
Carpodacini: Rosefinches (26 or 27 species, plus one extinct)
Drepanidini: Hawaiian honeycreepers (17 to 18 species, plus 22 extinct)
Carduelini: Canaries (94 to 122 species)
Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
“Common Chaffinch” (F. c. coelebs)
“Azorean Chaffinch” (F. c. moreletti)
“Madeiran Chaffinch” (F. c. maderensis)
“Canary Islands Chaffinch” (F. c. canariensis)
“La Palma Chaffinch” (F. c. palmae)
“African Chaffinch” (F. c. africana)
“Tunisian Chaffinch” (F. c. spodiogenys)
Tenerife Blue Chaffinch (Fringilla teydea)
Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch (Fringilla polatzeki)
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
Yellow-collared Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia flavirostris)
Blue-naped Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia cyanea)
Chestnut-breasted Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia pyrrhophrys)
Blue-crowned Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia occipitalis)
Golden-browed Chlorophonia (Chlorophonia callophrys)
Hispaniolan Euphonia (Euphonia musica)
Puerto Rican Euphonia (Euphonia sclateri)
Lesser Antillean Euphonia (Euphonia flavifrons)
Elegant Euphonia (Euphonia elegantissima)
Golden-rumped Euphonia (Euphonia cyanocephala)
Jamaican Euphonia (Euphonia jamaica)
Plumbeous Euphonia (Euphonia plumbea)
Scrub Euphonia (Euphonia affinis)
“Pale-vented Euphonia” (E. a. godmani)
“Scrub Euphonia” (E. a. affinis)
Purple-throated Euphonia (Euphonia chlorotica)
Yellow-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia luteicapilla)
Trinidad Euphonia (Euphonia trinitatis)
Velvet-fronted Euphonia (Euphonia concinna)
Orange-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia saturata)
Finsch’s Euphonia (Euphonia finschi)
Violaceous Euphonia (Euphonia violacea)
Thick-billed Euphonia (Euphonia laniirostris)
“Black-tailed Euphonia” (E. l. melanura)
“Thick-billed Euphonia” (E. l. laniirostris)
Yellow-throated Euphonia (Euphonia hirundinacea)
Green-throated Euphonia (Euphonia chalybea)
Fulvous-vented Euphonia (Euphonia fulvicrissa)
Golden-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia chrysopasta)
Bronze-green Euphonia (Euphonia mesochrysa)
Spot-crowned Euphonia (Euphonia imitans)
Olive-backed Euphonia (Euphonia gouldi)
White-vented Euphonia (Euphonia minuta)
Tawny-capped Euphonia (Euphonia anneae)
Orange-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia xanthogaster)
Rufous-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia rufiventris)
Golden-sided Euphonia (Euphonia cayennensis)
Chestnut-bellied Euphonia (Euphonia pectoralis)
Black-and-yellow Grosbeak (Mycerobas icterioides)
Collared Grosbeak (Mycerobas affinis)
Spot-winged Grosbeak (Mycerobas melanozanthos)
White-winged Grosbeak (Mycerobas carnipes)
Evening Grosbeak (Hesperiphona vespertina)
Hooded Grosbeak (Hesperiphona abeillei)
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)
Chinese Grosbeak (Eophona migratoria)
Japanese Grosbeak (Eophona personata)
Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator)
“Pine Grosbeak” (P. e. enucleator)
“Alaskan Grosbeak” (P. e. flammula)
“Queen Charlotte Grosbeak” (P. e. carlottae)
“Montana Grosbeak” (P. e. montana)
“California Grosbeak” (P. e. californica)
“Taiga Grosbeak” (P. e. leucura)
Brown Bullfinch (Pyrrhula nipalensis)
“Brown Bullfinch” (P. n. nipalensis)
“Malay Bullfinch” (P. n. waterstradti)
White-cheeked Bullfinch (Pyrrhula leucogenis)
Orange Bullfinch (Pyrrhula aurantiaca)
Red-headed Bullfinch (Pyrrhula erythrocephala)
Gray-headed Bullfinch (Pyrrhula erythaca)
Azorean Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina)
Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
“Eurasian Bullfinch” (P. p. pyrrhula)
“Baikal Bullfinch” (P. p. griseiventris)
Asian Crimson-winged Finch (Rhodopechys sanguineus)
African Crimson-winged Finch (Rhodopechys alienus)
Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus)
Mongolian Finch (Bucanetes mongolicus)
Blanford’s Rosefinch (Agraphospiza rubescens)
Gold-naped Finch (Pyrrhoplectes epauletta)
Spectacled Finch (Callacanthis burtoni)
Dark-breasted Rosefinch (Procarduelis nipalensis)
Plain Mountain-Finch (Leucosticte nemoricola)
Brandt’s Mountain-Finch (Leucosticte brandti)
Asian Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte arctoa)
Gray-crowned-Finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis)
“Pribilof Rosy-Finch” (L. t. umbrina)
“Aleutian Rosy-Finch” (L. t. griseonucha)
“Hepburn’s Rosy-Finch” (L. t. littoralis)
“Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch” (L. t. tephrocotis)
Black Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte atrata)
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte australis)
Common Rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus)
Scarlet Finch (Carpodacus sipahi)
Bonin Grosbeak (Carpodacus ferreorostris) †
Streaked Rosefinch (Carpodacus rubicilloides)
Great Rosefinch (Carpodacus rubicilla)
“Great Rosefinch” (C. r. rubicilla)
“Spotted Rosefinch” (C. r. severtzovi)
Blyth’s Rosefinch (Carpodacus grandis)
Red-mantled Rosefinch (Carpodacus rhodochlamys)
Himalayan Beautiful Rosefinch (Carpodacus pulcherrimus)
Chinese Beautiful Rosefinch (Carpodacus davidianus)
Pink-rumped Rosefinch (Carpodacus waltoni)
Pink-browed Rosefinch (Carpodacus rodochroa)
Dark-rumped Rosefinch (Carpodacus edwardsii)
Spot-winged Rosefinch (Carpodacus rhodopeplus)
Sharpe’s Rosefinch (Carpodacus verreauxii)
Vinaceous Rosefinch (Carpodacus vinaceus)
Taiwan Rosefinch (Carpodacus formosanus)
Sinai Rosefinch (Carpodacus synoicus)
Pale Rosefinch (Carpodacus stoliczkae)
Tibetan Rosefinch (Carpodacus roborowskii)
Sillem’s Mountain-Finch (Carpodacus sillemi)
Long-tailed Rosefinch (Carpodacus sibiricus)
Pallas’s Rosefinch (Carpodacus roseus)
Three-banded Rosefinch (Carpodacus trifasciatus)
Himalayan White-browed Rosefinch (Carpodacus thura)
Chinese White-browed Rosefinch (Carpodacus dubius)
Red-fronted Rosefinch (Carpodacus puniceus)
Crimson-browed Finch (Carpodacus subhimachala)
Po’o-uli (Melamprosops phaeosoma) †
Kakawahie (Paroreomyza flammea) †
Oahu Alauahio (Paroreomyza maculata) †
Maui Alauahio (Paroreomyza montana)
Laysan Finch (Telespiza cantans)
Nihoa Finch (Telespiza ultima)
Kona Grosbeak (Chloridops kona) †
Lesser Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis flaviceps) †
Greater Koa-Finch (Rhodacanthis palmeri) †
Ula-ai-hawane (Ciridops anna) †
Laysan Honeycreeper (Himatione fraithii) †
Black Mamo (Drepanis funerea) †
Hawaii Mamo (Drepanis pacifica) †
O’u (Psittirostra psittacea) †
Lanai Hookbill (Dysmorodrepanis munroi) †
Maui Parrotbill (Pseudonestor xanthophrys)
Kauai Nukupu’u (Hemignathus hanapepe) †
Oahu Nukupu’u (Hemignathus lucidus) †
Maui Nukupu’u (Hemignathus affinis) †
Akiapola’au (Hemignathus wilsoni)
Kauai Akialoa (Akialoa stejnegeri) †
Oahu Akialoa (Akialoa ellisiana) †
Maui Nui Akialoa (Akialoa lanaiensis) †
Lesser Akialoa (Akialoa obscura) †
Kauai Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis stejnegeri)
Oahu Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis flava)
Common Amakihi (Chlorodrepanis virens)
Greater Amakihi (Viridonia sagittirostris) †
Hawaii Creeper (Manucerthia mana)
Akeke’e (Loxops caeruleirostris)
Oahu Akepa (Loxops wolstenholmei) †
Maui Akepa (Loxops ochraceus) †
Hawaii Akepa (Loxops coccineus)
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)
Purple Finch (Haemorhous purpureus)
Cassin’s Finch (Haemorhous cassinii)
Desert Finch (Rhodospiza obsoleta)
Arabian Grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus percivali)
Socotra Grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus socotranus)
Somali Grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus louisae)
European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris)
Oriental Greenfinch (Chloris sinica)
Yellow-breasted Greenfinch (Chloris spinoides)
Vietnamese Greenfinch (Chloris monguilloti)
Black-headed Greenfinch (Chloris ambigua)
Oriole Finch (Linurgus olivaceus)
Principe Seedeater (Crithagra rufobrunnea)
São Tomé Grosbeak (Crithagra concolor)
African Citril (Crithagra citrinelloides)
Western Citril (Crithagra frontalis)
Southern Citril (Crithagra hyposticta)
Black-faced Canary (Crithagra capistrata)
Papyrus Canary (Crithagra koliensis)
Forest Canary (Crithagra scotops)
White-rumped Seedeater (Crithagra leucopygia)
Black-throated Canary (Crithagra atrogularis)
Yellow-rumped Seedeater (Crithagra xanthopygia)
Reichenow’s Seedeater (Crithagra reichenowi)
Olive-rumped Serin (Crithagra rothschildi)
Yellow-throated Seedeater (Crithagra flavigula)
Salvadori’s Seedeater (Crithagra xantholaema)
Lemon-breasted Canary (Crithagra citrinipectus)
Yellow-fronted Canary (Crithagra mozambica)
White-bellied Canary (Crithagra dorsostriata)
Ankober Serin (Crithagra ankoberensis)
Yemen Serin (Crithagra menachensis)
Cape Siskin (Crithagra totta)
Drakensberg Siskin (Crithagra symonsi)
Northern Grosbeak-Canary (Crithagra donaldsoni)
Southern Grosbeak-Canary (Crithagra buchanani)
Yellow Canary (Crithagra flaviventris)
Brimstone Canary (Crithagra sulphurata)
Reichard’s Seedeater (Crithagra reichardi)
“Reichard’s Seedeater” (C. r. reichardi)
“Stripe-breasted Seedeater” (C. r. striatipectus)
Streaky-headed Seedeater (Crithagra gularis)
West African Seedeater (Crithagra canicapilla)
Black-eared Seedeater (Crithagra mennelli)
Brown-rumped Seedeater (Crithagra tristriata)
White-throated Canary (Crithagra albogularis)
Thick-billed Seedeater (Crithagra burtoni)
Streaky Seedeater (Crithagra striolata)
Yellow-browed Seedeater (Crithagra whytii)
Kipengere Seedeater (Crithagra melanochroa)
Protea Canary (Crithagra leucoptera)
Twite (Linaria flavirostris)
Eurasian Linnet (Linaria cannabina)
Yemen Linnet (Linaria yemenensis)
Warsangli Linnet (Linaria johannis)
Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)
“Lesser Redpoll” (A. f. cabaret)
“Common Redpoll” (A. f. flammea)
“Greenland Redpoll” (A. f. rostrata)
“Arctic Redpoll” (A. h. exilipes)
“Hoary Redpoll” (A. h. hornemanni)
Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pytyopsittacus)
Scottish Crossbill (Loxia scotica)
Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirostra)
“Red Crossbill” (L. c. curvirostra)
“Corsican Crossbill” (L. c. corsicana)
“Balearic Crossbill” (L. c. balearica)
“North African Crossbill” (L. c. poliogyna)
“Cyprus Crossbill” (L. c. guillemardi)
“Crimean Crossbill” (L. c. mariae)
“Altai Crossbill” (L. c. altaiensis)
“Tien Shan Crossbill” (L. c. tianschanica)
“Himalayan Crossbill” (L. c. himalayensis)
“Da Lat Crossbill” (L. c. meridionalis)
“Japanese Crossbill” (L. c. japonica)
“Luzon Crossbill” (L. c. luzoniensis)
“Bendire’s Crossbill” (L. c. bendirei)
“Sitka Crossbill” (L. c. sitkensis)
“Bent’s Crossbill” (Loxia benti)
“Lesser Crossbill” (Loxia minor)
“Grinnell’s Crossbill” (L. c. grinnelli)
“Strickland’s Crossbill” (L. c. stricklandi)
“Guatemalan Crossbill” (L. c. mesamericana)
“Newfoundland Crossbill” (L. c. pusilla)
Cassia Crossbill (Loxia sinesciuris)
White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera)
“Two-barred Crossbill” (L. l. bifasciata)
“White-winged Crossbill” (L. l. leucoptera)
Hispaniolan Crossbill (Loxia megaplaga)
Mountain Serin (Chrysocorythus estherae)
“Mountain Serin” (C. e. estherae)
“Mindanao Serin” (C. e. mindanensis)
European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)
“European Goldfinch” (C. c. carduelis)
“Eastern Goldfinch” (C. c. caniceps)
Citril Finch (Carduelis citrinella)
Corsican Finch (Carduelis corsicanus)
Red-fronted Serin (Serinus pusillus)
European Serin (Serinus serinus)
Syrian Serin (Serinus syriacus)
Atlantic Canary (Serinus canaria)
Cape Canary (Serinus canicollis)
Yellow-crowned Canary (Serinus flavivertex)
Abyssinian Serin (Serinus nigriceps)
Black-headed Canary (Serinus alario)
Damara Canary (Serinus leucolaemus)
Tibetan Serin (Spinus thibetanus)
Lawrence’s Goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei)
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)
Antillean Siskin (Spinus dominicensis)
Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)
“Pine Siskin” (S. p. pinus)
“Chiapas Siskin” (S. p. perplexus)
Black-capped Siskin (Spinus atriceps)
Black-headed Siskin (Spinus notatus)
Andean Siskin (Spinus spinescens)
Yellow-faced Siskin (Spinus yarrellii)
Yellow-bellied Siskin (Spinus xanthogastrus)
Red Siskin (Spinus cucullatus)
Thick-billed Siskin (Spinus crassirostris)
Hooded Siskin (Spinus magellanicus)
Saffron Siskin (Spinus siemiradzkii)
Olivaceous Siskin (Spinus olivaceus)
Black Siskin (Spinus atratus)
Yellow-rumped Siskin (Spinus uropygialis)
Black-chinned Siskin (Spinus barbatus)
References
Clement, P., A. Harris, and J. Davis. 1993. Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Hume, J.P. 2017. Extinct Birds (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, London.
Pratt, H.D. 2005. The Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidinae. Oxford University Press.
Roberson, D. 2015. Bird Families of the World: Hawaiian Honeycreepers: Drepanidini, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/drepanids.html. (Posted August 17, 2015. Accessed May 7, 2020.)
Roberson, D. 2015. Bird Families of the World: Fringillid Finches: Fringillidae, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/fringillids.html. (Posted August 30, 2015. Accessed May 7, 2020.)