Birds Guide

Fringilla
Male Chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Fringillidae   Genus: Fringilla Linnaeus, 1758
Species
Three; see text

The genus Fringilla is a small group of finches, which are the only species in the subfamily Fringillinae The three species, which feed their young on insects rather than seeds, are:

• Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
  Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea
  Brambling Fringilla montifringilla

The other much larger subfamily is the Cardueline finches in the subfamily Carduelinae which feed their young on seeds.

The Fringilla finches are seed-eating passerine birds restricted to the Old World. These birds have a bouncing flight with alternating bouts of flapping and gliding on closed wings, but feed largely on the ground.