Finches

The IOC listing shows Finches in family Fringillidae:-

• Chaffinches of Europe and Africa favour conifers. They are ground feeders taking insects, berries and seeds. They use their large conical beaks to split seeds before eating them. Safety dictates that they nest off the ground in the forks of trees.

• Bramblings are abundant in alpine birch forests of Scandinavia where they displace the Chaffinch. They like beech woods where beech mast and hornbeam nuts are an important winter food for this bird.

• Serins, Citril Finches and Canaries are found in Africa and Asia. Euphonias are Finches found in the Americas. Serins are found in parks with scattered trees, preferably conifers. They have small pointed beaks which they use to forage for small grass seeds on the ground.

• Siskins like open country especially with alder trees where they use their thin, pointed beaks to feed on the seeds. Many are found in Europe which has some large forests of alder trees.

• Greenfinches like gardens and hedgerows in both Europe and America where they feed on a variety of seeds.

• Goldfinches eat seeds of thistles, teasels and burdocks.

• Rosefinches and House Finches frequent agricultural land in the Americas where they feed on seeds and berries.

Niche separation in Finches.

Finches quite often share habitats and food sources. The co-existance of various species and avoidance of competition is ensured by niche separation. Chaffinch nests about 4.5 m from the ground in a fork close to the trunk of the tree. Feeds chicks with invertebrates. The Goldfinch nests about 6m up but chooses thin outer twigs which predators can’t reach. It feeds chicks on fine seeds. The Greenfinch feeds with large seeds.