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. Carduelinae is derived from the Latin name carduelis and the binomial name Carduelis carduelis for a goldfinch, one of the species in the subfamily.
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.
Mycerobas – contains four species of Asian grosbeaks Hesperiphona – contains two species of American grosbeaks, the evening grosbeak and the hooded grosbeak Coccothraustes – contains a single species, the hawfinch Eophona – contains the two oriental grosbeaks, the Chinese and the Japanese grosbeak Pinicola – contains a single species, the pine grosbeak Pyrrhula – contains the eight bullfinch species Rhodopechys – contains a single species, the crimson-winged finch Bucanetes – contains two species, the trumpeter and the Mongolian finch Agraphospiza – contains a single species, Blanford's rosefinch Callacanthis – contains a single species, the spectacled finch Pyrrhoplectes – contains a single species, the golden-naped finch Procarduelis – contains a single species, the dark-breasted rosefinch Leucosticte – contains six species of mountain and rosy finches Carpodacus – contains the 28 species of Palearctic rosefinches Hawaiian honeycreeper group (formerly a separate family, Drepanididae, and sometimes treated as tribe Drepanini) Melamprosops – contains a single extinct species, the po'ouli Paroreomyza – contains three species, the Oahu alauahio, the Maui alauahio and the extinct kakawahie Oreomystis – contains a single species, the akikiki Telespiza – contains two species, the Laysan finch and the Nihoa finch Loxioides – contains a single species, the palila Rhodacanthis – contains two extinct species, the lesser and the greater koa finch Chloridops – contains a three extinct species Psittirostra – contains a single extinct species, the ou Dysmorodrepanis – contains a single extinct species, the Lanai hookbill Drepanis – contains two extinct species, the Hawaii mamo and the black mamo, and the extant iiwi Ciridops – contains a single extinct species, the Ula-ai-hawane Palmeria – contains a single species, the akohekohe Himatione – contains two species, the apapane and the extinct Laysan honeycreeper Viridonia – contains a single extinct species, the greater amakihi Akialoa – contains six extinct species Hemignathus – contains five species, only one of which is extant, with two being possibly extinct Pseudonestor – contains a single species, the Maui parrotbill Magumma – contains a single species, the anianiau Loxops – contains five species, of which one is extinct and one possibly extinct Chlorodrepanis – contains three species, the Hawaii, Oahu and Kauai amakihi Orthiospiza – contains a single extinct species, the highland finch Vangulifer – contains two extinct species Xestospiza – contains two extinct species Aidemedia – contains three extinct species Haemorhous – contains the three species of North America rosefinches Chloris – contains the six species of greenfinches Rhodospiza – contains a single species, the desert finch Rhynchostruthus – contains the three species of golden-winged grosbeaks Linurgus – contains a single species, the oriole finch Crithagra – contains 37 species of canaries, serins and siskins from Africa and the Arabian Peninsula Linaria – contains four species including the twite and three linnets Acanthis – redpolls Loxia – contains six species of crossbills Chrysocorythus – contains two species, the Indonesian serin and the Mindanao serin Carduelis – contains four species including the European goldfinch Serinus – contains eight species including the European serin Spinus – contains 20 species including the North American goldfinches and the Eurasian siskin
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Literature cited