Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: How common are finches?
The finches have a near-global distribution, being found across the Americas, Eurasia and Africa, as well as some island groups such as the Hawaiian islands. They are absent from Australasia, Antarctica, the Southern Pacific and the islands of the Indian Ocean, although some European species have been widely introduced in Australia and New Zealand.
Red-browed finches are common aviary birds. The red-browed finch will sometimes hybridise with the star finch, crimson finch, and zebra finch if kept together in captivity.
The species has been introduced to southwest Australia, where it is sometimes confused with the red-eared firetail "Stagonopleura oculata".
Recent research by Zamora "et al." (2006) has revealed that the desert finch is more closely related to the greenfinches of the genus "Carduelis" (or "Chloris", if "Carduelis" is split up) as indicated by DNA sequence analysis, vocalizations, and the presence of a black eye-stripe. Genetically, it seems very close to the common ancestor of the greenfinches. It may be that the latter evolved from a desert form and later developed the green plumage, or that the common ancestor of the greenfinches and the desert finch (which lived around 6 million years ago) was a species of semiarid habitat which subsequently diverged into a truly desert-adapted lineage, today represented by the desert finch, and the ancestor of a woodlands lineage, the greenfinches.
Speed-singing contests for finches are also a common event in Guyana, Trinidad, Suriname and Brazil. The male finches are placed in cages on poles about one foot apart. The first finch to reach 50 songs wins. The illegal importation of these finches from immigrants of these countries has challenged authorities in New York City.
In 2001, Woolley began a second postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, working with Frederic E. Theunissen. There she studied how zebra finches were able to distinguish vocalizations of specific individuals and also differentiate vocalizations from other sounds coming from the world around them. She found that the finch's auditory neurons were better able to more accurately distinguish between different zebra finch songs than between synthetic sound segments, suggesting that their neurons are more finely tuned to understanding finch vocalizations. She looked at how single neurons and populations of neurons in the auditory midbrain encode song versus generic noise. She found that the majority of auditory midbrain neurons were able to consistently and precisely tune in to finch vocalizations, while they exhibited a high degree of variability in response to generic noise.
Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England held by the Finch-Hatton family. It has been united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729. The Finch family is believed to be descended from Henry FitzHerbert, Lord Chamberlain to Henry I (r. 1100–1135). The name change to Finch came in the 1350s after marriage to an heiress by a member of the Finch family. In 1660 the 3rd Earl of Winchilsea was created Baron FitzHerbert of Eastwell, Kent, in recompense for his efficient aid in the Restoration of the Monarchy. The Herbert family of Wales, Earls of Pembroke, share common ancestry but bear differenced arms. A later member of the family, Sir William Finch, was knighted in 1513. His son Sir Thomas Finch (died 1563), was also knighted for his share in suppressing Sir Thomas Wyatt's insurrection against Queen Mary I, and was the son-in-law of Sir Thomas Moyle, some of whose lands Finch's wife inherited. Thomas's eldest son Moyle Finch represented Weymouth, Kent and Winchelsea in the House of Commons. In 1611 he was created a baronet, of Eastwell in the County of Kent.
John Finch, 1st Baron Finch (17 September 1584 – 27 November 1660) was an English judge, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. He was Speaker of the House of Commons.
In the Kimberley District of Western Australia, where most wild Gouldian finch were trapped for aviculture, it was often reported as one of the more common of the eleven finch species. Until 1977, it was trapped in greater numbers than any other finch. From 1897, when finch trapping started in the Kimberley, it was the most sought after finch by trappers and the most desired by fanciers. Between the years 1934 and 1939, the Gouldian finch was the most exported single finch species. The Perth Zoo exported 22,064 finches of which 12,509 were Gouldian. Private dealers exported 35,315 finches, of which 14,504 were Gouldian. The number of finches taken in the 1958 finch trapping season was the largest for one year, of the 38,649 finches taken, 11,286 were Gouldian. The last licensed trapping of Gouldian finch in Western Australia was on 15 November 1981. In that year's finch trapping season, of the 23,450 finches taken 1,054 were Gouldian. However, it is now illegal to export these birds from Australia.
The common cactus finch is one of six species in the genus "Geospiza", part of a group of closely related species known as Darwin's finches. There are four recognized subspecies:
He was the second surviving son of Sir Thomas Finch of Eastwell, Kent, by Catherine, daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Moyle.His elder brother became Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet. By his wife Ursula, daughter of John Thwaites of Kent, he was father of John Finch, speaker of the House of Commons in the reign of Charles I, and of Edward Finch (fl. 1630-1641), Royalist divine.
The crimson finch ("Neochmia phaeton") is a common species of estrildid finch found in New Guinea and northern Australia. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 100,000 – 1,000,000 km.
The common ancestor of all greenfinches, which are among the oldest "Carduelis" species, appeared on Earth around 9 MYA.
One of these common ancestors is the desert finch, which now thrives in Asian deserts, but could have also inhabited African deserts.
This finch, with very pale colors and a breeding season mask similar to that of the common greenfinch, used to be classified, according to phenotypical (external) characters, close to the trumpeter finch, but it belongs to genus "Carduelis" according to several molecular studies.
The crimson finch (also known as the blood finch) has two distinct races, the black-bellied and the white-bellied. The black-bellied is the more common in captivity and therefore is reflected in its pricing.
The long-tailed finch ("Poephila acuticauda") is a common species of estrildid finch found in Australia; also known as the blackheart finch, shaft-tail finch, Heck's grassfinch, Heck's grass finch, and Heck's finch. It is a predominantly fawn-coloured bird with a pale grey head and prominent black bib and eyes. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,000,000–10,000,000 km. It inhabits dry savannah habitats in Australia and adapts readily to aviculture. The IUCN has classified the species as being of least concern.
Parson finch is an alternative common name.
The common cactus finch or small cactus finch ("Geospiza scandens") is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands, where it is found on most islands, with the notable exception of Fernandina, Española, Genovesa, Darwin and Wolf. Most of these islands are inhabited by its close relative, the Española cactus finch.
The cut-throat finch ("Amadina fasciata") is a common species of estrildid finch found throughout Africa; it is also known as the bearded finch, the ribbon finch, the cut throat, and the weaver finch.
Several other members of the Finch family have also gained distinction. The Hon. Heneage Finch, second son of the 1st Earl of Nottingham, was made Earl of Aylesford in 1714. The Hon. Edward Finch, fifth son of the 1st Earl of Nottingham, was a composer and sat as Member of Parliament for Cambridge University. He later took holy orders and served as Prebendary of York and Canterbury. The Hon. Edward Finch, fifth son of the 2nd Earl of Nottingham, sat as Member of Parliament for Cambridge University from 1727 to 1768. The Hon. Harold Heneage Finch-Hatton, fourth son of the 10th Earl, represented Newark in the House of Commons. The Hon. Denys Finch Hatton, younger brother of the 14th Earl, moved to East Africa and became a noted pilot and hunter, and a close friend of Karen Blixen. In the film "Out of Africa" he was played by Robert Redford. John Finch, 1st Baron Finch of Fordwich, was the son of Sir Henry Finch, younger brother of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet of Eastwell. George Finch, illegitimate son of the 9th Earl of Winchilsea, was a politician. His son, George Finch, was Father of the House of Commons.
The black rosy finch was first classified by American ornithologist Robert Ridgway in 1874. This bird has been thought to form a superspecies with the three other rosy finches: grey-crowned rosy finch "(L. tephrocotis)" and the brown-capped rosy finch "(L. australis)", all of which were classified as the same species as the Asian rosy finch "(L. arctoa)" from 1983-1993. Recent mitochondrial DNA evidence shows the rosy finches are all indeed very closely related and can be easily confused with one another. Along with four Asian rosy finches, the three North American rosy finches form the mountain finch genus "Leucosticte". There are no recognized subspecies of the black rosy finch. Alternative common names include: "roselin" (in French), "Rußschneegimpel" (in German), and "pinzón montano negro" (in Spanish).
Finch phylogeny Fringilla chaffinches Euphonia, Chlorophonia Mycerobas, Hesperiphona, Coccothraustes and Eophona grosbeaks Hawaiian honeycreepers Carpodacus Eurasian rosefinches Pinicola pine grosbeak Pyrrhula bullfinches Rhodopechys crimson-winged finches Bucanetes trumpeter and the Mongolian finch Agraphospiza Blanford's rosefinch Callacanthis spectacled finch Pyrrhoplectes golden-naped finch Procarduelis dark-breasted rosefinch Leucosticte mountain finches Haemorhous North American rosefinches Rhodospiza desert finch Rhynchostruthus golden-winged grosbeaks Chloris greenfinches Linurgus oriole finch Crithagra African canaries, serins and siskins Linaria twite and linnets Acanthis redpolls Loxia crossbills Chrysocorythus mountain serin Carduelis European goldfinch etc Serinus European serin, Atlantic canary, etc Spinus North American goldfinches etcCladogram based on the analysis by Zuccon and colleagues published in 2012.[3] The rosefinches genus Carpodacus is expanded to include the common rosefinch as suggested by Tietze and colleagues[10] and adopted by the International Ornithological Committee.[6]
The red-headed finch ("Amadina erythrocephala") (also known as the paradise finch or the red-headed weaver) is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 1,600,000 km. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Española cactus finch ("Geospiza conirostris"), is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is one of Darwin's finches, and is endemic to the Galápagos islands, where it is restricted to Española, Genovesa, Darwin and Wolf Islands. This rather dark bird resembles the smaller and finer-beaked common cactus finch, but the two species do not co-inhabit any island.
Woolley received her Bachelors of Arts in 1991 from University of Colorado Boulder, studying Biology and Psychology. She then attended the University of Washington School of Medicine, where she received her PhD in 1999 in Neurobiology and Behavior in the laboratory of Edwin Rubel. Her research centered on how Bengalese finches learn and maintain songs, which serves as a useful model for understanding how experiences contribute to developing and controlling a motor behavior that is socially meaningful. In particular, she found that while male Bengalese finches don't typically change their song patterns in adulthood, their song patterns do require auditory feedback. As a result, if a finch becomes deaf, his song will degrade in about one week. Woolley, however, found that not all sound frequencies are required to maintain a male finch's song. Finches that lost the ability to hear in high-frequency ranges still maintained their ability to sustain a consistent song pattern. She also characterized how these finches can regenerate auditory hair cells, which can restore hearing within eight weeks following damage to the hair cells.
The vampire finch is endangered, being a small-island endemic. The Galápagos finch species collectively form a showcase example of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection. The 15 species of Galápagos finches, plus the Cocos finch, are often called "Darwin's finches." They are used as an example of how the descendants of one ancestor can evolve through adaptive radiation into several species as they adapt to different conditions on various islands.
Sir Heneage Finch (1580 – 5 December 1631) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1607 and 1626. He was Speaker of the English House of Commons in 1626.
Finch was the son of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st Baronet of Eastwell, Kent and his wife Elizabeth Finch, 1st Countess of Winchilsea. He matriculated into Trinity College, Cambridge in about 1592 and was awarded BA in 1596. He was admitted at Inner Temple in 1597 and called to the bar in 1606.