Little Finch On A Perch

This is the American Rose Finch, sitting on a perch in my backyard.... more

by Kay Novy

Title

Little Finch On A Perch

Artist

Kay Novy

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

This is the American Rose Finch, sitting on a perch in my backyard.
The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily monotypic at genus level is found only in the Palaearctic. The scientific name Fringillidae comes from the Latin word fringilla for the Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) a member of that last subfamily which is common in Europe.
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Many birds in other families are also commonly called "finches", including some species in the very similar-looking waxbills or estrildid finches (family Estrildidae) of the Old World tropics and Australia; several groups of the bunting and American sparrow family (Emberizidae); and Darwin's finches of the Galapagos islands, which provided evidence of natural selection and are now recognized to be peculiar tanagers.
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Finches are typically inhabitants of well-wooded areas, but some can be found on mountains or even in deserts. They are primarily granivorous, but euphoniines include considerable amounts of arthropods and berries in their diet, and Hawaiian honeycreepers evolved to utilize a wide range of food sources, including nectar. The diet of Fringillidae nestlings includes a varying amount of small arthropods. True finches have a bouncing flight like most small passerines, alternating bouts of flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well and several are commonly seen cagebirds; foremost among these is the domesticated Canary (Serinus canaria domestica). The nests are basket-shaped and usually built in trees, more rarely in bushes, between rocks or on similar substrate

Uploaded

August 19th, 2013