Carduelinae

{{Short description|Subfamily of birds}}

{{automatic taxobox

| taxon = Carduelinae

| image = Red Crossbills (Male).jpg

| image_caption = Male red crossbills

| authority = Vigors, 1825

| subdivision = 49, see text

| subdivision_ranks = Genera}}

The cardueline finches are a subfamily, Carduelinae, one of three subfamilies of the finch family Fringillidae, the others being the Fringillinae and the Euphoniinae. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are now included in this subfamily.Groth, 2001, pp. 552–553 Except for the Hawaiian honeycreepers which underwent adaptive radiation in Hawaii and have evolved a broad range of diets, cardueline finches are specialised seed eaters, and unlike most passerine birds, they feed their young mostly on seeds, which are regurgitated.Newton, 1973, p. 31 Besides this, they differ from the other finches in some minor details of their skull. They are adept at opening seeds and clinging to stems, unlike other granivorous birds, such as sparrows and buntings, which feed mostly on fallen seeds.Groth, 2001, p. 557 Some members of this subfamily are further specialised to feed on a particular type of seed, such as cones in the case of crossbills. Carduelines forage in flocks throughout the year, rather than keeping territories, and males defend their females rather than a territory or nest.Groth, 2001, p. 558

The name Carduelina[e] for the subfamily was introduced by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors in 1825.{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and nomenclature of avian family-group names| series= Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Issue 222 | page=264 | hdl=2246/830 }}{{ cite journal | last=Vigors | first=Nicholas Aylward | author-link=Nicholas Aylward Vigors | year=1825 | title=Sketches in ornithology | journal=Zoological Journal | volume=2 | issue=7 | page=398 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27490742 }} Carduelinae is derived from the Latin name carduelis and the binomial name Carduelis carduelis for a goldfinch, one of the species in the subfamily.{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling |publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n91 91] }}

List of genera

The Carduelinae subfamily contains 186 species divided into 49 genera. Of the 186 species, 15 are now extinct; these are the Bonin grosbeak and 14 Hawaiian honeycreepers.{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | title=Finches, euphonias | work= World Bird List Version 5.3| url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/finches/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union| access-date=25 July 2015 }}

References

{{Reflist}}

Literature cited

  • {{Cite book|last=Groth|first=Jeffrey G. |year=2001|contribution=Finches and Allies |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_227/page/n551 552]–560 |title=The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior|url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_227|url-access=limited|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|editor=Elphick, Chris |editor2=Dunning, John B. Jr. |editor3=Sibley, David Allen|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4000-4386-6}}
  • {{Cite book|last=Newton|first=Ian|title=Finches|series=The New Naturalist Library 55|publisher=Taplinger|year=1973|location=New York|isbn=0-8008-2720-1}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q667490}}

Category:Bird subfamilies

Category:Fringillidae