Finches: Fringillidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Finches And People, Chaffinch (fringilla Coelebs): Species Accounts - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS
extinction facing risk threatened
Finches range throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
They prefer forests, shrubby areas, savannas (flat grasslands), grasslands, agricultural areas, parks, and gardens.
Finches eat seeds, grains, and other vegetable matter. They also eat insects and other small invertebrates (animals without a backbone). Many species forage on the ground, while others feed in trees.
One species is listed as Critically Endangered, facing an extremely high risk of extinction; five species are Endangered, facing a very high risk of extinction; three species are Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinction; four species are Near Threatened, in danger of becoming threatened with extinction; and one species is Extinct, died out.
Additional Topics
Finches are strong fliers, and able to hop and run over short distances. Some species migrate long distances to warmer climates, while others wander constantly in search for food. Finches are mostly quiet birds, but do have short, sharp calls that are used to communicate and to warn of predators. Males use unique songs to defend a large breeding territory and to attract a mate. Because finches are…
Physical characteristics: Chaffinches have a white shoulder patch, a white wing-bar, and white tail markings. Males are patterned with a blue-gray back and front of head, a pink-to-rust face, throat, breast, and sides, a gray-green rump, a white belly, flanks, and undertail coverts, and a gray-blue tail. Females are duller with a yellow-brown overall color, a paler colored belly, a brown eye line,…
Physical characteristics: Male American goldfinches are colored an overall bright canary yellow, with black wings marked in double white bars and white edging, a black tail, and a black face cap. Males are not as brightly colored in the winter. Females are a dull grayish-yellow, with dark wings and tails, pale yellow under parts without a black cap, and olive upper parts. Juveniles are olive-yello…
Physical characteristics: Red crossbills show much geographic variation in body size, and in bill size and shape, but not in color. They have a fairly heavy body (about the size of sparrows), a short forked tail, and a stout bill where the tips of the upper and lower mandibles (parts of bill) cross over. Males are colored an overall dusky brick red with dusky wings that have reddish edging, and a …
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User Comments
about 1 year ago
A tiny visitor at my kitchen window I would like to identify. Black with wite wing markings looks like large M from the back. He has a red cap that is flat then he stands it up to look like a flat top! Would love to see a picture of him.