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Chaffinch

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                    iChaffinch
   Birdsong (help·info)
   Birdsong

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Passeriformes
   Family:  Fringillidae
   Genus:   Fringilla
   Species: F. coelebs

                                Binomial name

   Fringilla coelebs
   Linnaeus, 1758

   The Chaffinch, (Fringilla coelebs), is a small passerine bird in the
   finch family Fringillidae. Its large double white wing bars, white tail
   edges and greenish rump easily identify this 14-16 cm long species. The
   breeding male is unmistakable, with his reddish underparts and a grey
   cap. The female is drabber and greener, but still obvious.

   This bird is widespread and very familiar throughout Europe. It is the
   most common finch in western Europe. Its range extends into western
   Asia, northwestern Africa, the Canary Islands and Madeira. On Tenerife
   and Gran Canaria, it coexists with its sister species, the endemic Blue
   Chaffinch.

Behaviour

   It uses a range of habitats, but open woodland is favoured, although it
   is common in gardens and on farmland. It builds its nest in a tree
   fork, and decorates the exterior with moss or lichen to make it less
   conspicuous. It lays about six eggs.

   This bird is not migratory in the milder parts of its range, but
   vacates the colder regions in winter. The coelebs part of its name
   means "bachelor". This species was named by Linnaeus; in his home
   country of Sweden, where the females depart in winter, but the males
   often remain. This species forms loose flocks outside the breeding
   season, sometimes mixed with Bramblings. This bird occasionally strays
   to eastern North America, although some sightings may be escapees.

   The food of the Chaffinch is seeds, but unlike most finches, the young
   are fed extensively on insects.

   The powerful song is very well known, and its fink or vink sounding
   call gives the finch family its English name. Males typically sing two
   or three different song types, and there are regional dialects too.

   The acquisition by the young Chaffinch of its song was the subject of
   an influential study by British ethologist William Thorpe. Thorpe
   determined that if the Chaffinch is not exposed to the adult male's
   song during a certain critical period after hatching, it will never
   properly learn the song.^ 1 He also found that in adult Chaffinches,
   castration eliminates song, but injection of testosterone induces such
   birds to sing even in November, when they are normally silent (Thorpe
   1958).

Subspecies

   Distinctive subspecies include
     * F. c. madeirensis, Madeira
     * F. c. africana, North Africa
     * F. c. tintillon, Canary Islands

Finching

   In a number of countries such as Belgium, the Chaffinch is a popular
   pet bird, although it is nowadays forbidden to catch the birds in the
   wild. In some areas of Western Belgium, finching (also called finch
   singing contests or finch song contests or vinkenzetting) is a quite
   popular sport. In a finching contest, a number of cages each housing a
   male finch are lined up, usually along a street. Every time the bird
   sings its song (which should be the correct tune!) this is marked with
   a chalk stripe on a wooden stick, and the bird singing its song the
   most times during one hour wins the contest.

   Vinkenzetting, from the Dutch for finch-sitting, is a traditional sport
   played primarily in the Flemish regions of Belgium. Participants sit in
   front of caged finches and count how many times each finch sings a
   particular birdsong (most often transcribed as suskewiet).

   The oldest known records of vinkenzetting are from 1593; however, it is
   believed to be considerably older, as the 1593 records were in a
   context implying that any reader would already be familiar with it.

   By the late nineteenth century, vinkenzetting's popularity had
   diminished significantly; however, it saw a resurgence after the First
   World War, largely because of the large number of newly- blinded
   veterans who considered themselves unable to participate in other
   sports. As of 2006, it is estimated that there are over 13000
   vinkenier, or "finch-holders".

Gallery

   Female

         Male

             Finching contest in Belgium

                                        Madeira Chaffinch

   Male

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaffinch"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
