Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The family Fringillidae are the "true" finches. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these 239 species in the family, distributed among three subfamilies and 50 genera. Confusingly, only 79 of the species include "finch" in their common names, and several other families include species called finches.
The painted finch is a small passerine that is 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in) in length and weighs around 11.5 g (0.41 oz). Male painted finches have a red forehead and face that stand out in contrast to the black breast of individuals.
The breeding male has a red face with black markings around the eyes, and a black-and-white head. The back and flanks are buff or chestnut brown. The black wings have a broad yellow bar. The tail is black and the rump is white. Males and females are very similar, but females have a slightly smaller red area on the face.
Finches are a form taxon composed of unrelated but similar-looking songbirds within the family Fringillidae of the superfamily Passeroidea. The family Fringillidae includes numerous birds not called "finches" in their common names, including the crossbills , siskins , and waxbills .
The double-barred finch (Stizoptera bichenovii) is an estrildid finch found in dry savannah, tropical (lowland) dry grassland and shrubland habitats in northern and eastern Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Bicheno's finch or as the owl finch , the latter of which owing to the dark ring of feathers around the face.
The name Fringillidae for the finch family was introduced in 1819 by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the contents of the British Museum. [3] [4] The taxonomy of the family, in particular the cardueline finches, has a long and complicated history.
The masked finch is 12.5–13.5 cm long. The male is larger, but the sexes are otherwise similar. It is cinnamon-brown above and paler below with a white rump, black mark on the flanks and black face mask. It has a heavy yellow bill and a pointed black tail. The eastern subspecies P. p. leucotis has whitish cheeks.
The term "Darwin's finches" was first applied by Percy Lowe in 1936, and popularised in 1947 by David Lack in his book Darwin's Finches. [7] [8] Lack based his analysis on the large collection of museum specimens collected by the 1905–06 Galápagos expedition of the California Academy of Sciences, to whom Lack dedicated his 1947 book. The ...