The British finches are made up of several species of

finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

which were formerly very popular as cage birds in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. They are not currently commonplace, but are still kept by a few dedicated fanciers.

History

Victorian times In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed th ...

British finches were hugely popular as cage birds throughout the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, often replacing canaries. Due to a lack of protection, thousands of birds were captured for the pet trade every year. Their popularity is reflected in the well-known British

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

song, " My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)", in the line, "I walked behind wiv me old cock linnet..." referring to the linnet (''Carduelis cannabina'').

Regulation

British finches are often associated with mules, a term used by cage bird breeders to refer to hybrids of finch species bred in captivity, such as that of a goldfinch and canary. There are now strict ringing regulations on British finches in places such as the UK, but they are still kept by aviculturists who care for them in much the same way as canaries. The seed mixture in the UK known as British Finch & Mule is their basic diet. Since the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (c. 69) is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom implemented to comply with European Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds. In short, the act gives protection to native species ...

, it has been illegal to capture, attempt to capture or sell any British bird, and only those on Schedule 3 Part 1, may be sold if they are closed ringed and proof can be given that they were bred in captivity.

Species

British finches are quite simply birds in the

finch family The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family (biology), family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of ...

which to this day live wild in the

. The species most popular include: *Genus '' Fringilla'' - bramblings and chaffinches ** Common chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') ** Brambling (''Fringilla montifringilla'') (Note: this species is often known in aviculture as the bramble finch) *Subfamily

Carduelinae 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. Except for the ...

- linnets, redpolls, goldfinches, greenfinches, some siskins **

Greenfinch The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus ''Chloris'' in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa. These fin ...

(''Chloris chloris'') ** Redpoll (''Acanthis flammea'') ** Siskin (''Spinus spinus'') ** Goldfinch (''Carduelis carduelis'') ** Twite (''Linaria flavirostris'') ** Linnet (''Linaria cannabina'') *Genus '' Loxia'' - crossbills ** Common crossbill (''Loxia species'') (Note: In Victorian times the Scottish crossbill had not been identified) *Genus '' Pyrrhula'' - bullfinches **

Eurasian bullfinch The Eurasian bullfinch, common bullfinch or bullfinch (''Pyrrhula pyrrhula'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as the bullfinch (English regional, Shropshire: plum bird), as it ...

(''Pyrrhula pyrrhula'')

Mules and hybrids

During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, it was found that if a British finch, e.g. a goldfinch, was crossed with a canary, the result was an attractive looking, good singing bird. The resulting birds were sterile, but continue to be bred to this day under the name of mules. Many clubs specialise in mules. Also around this time a few people began to experiment crossing British finches. The resulting birds, including siskin × goldfinch and even such beauties as crossbill ×

also remain to this day, often winning prizes at prestigious shows. The breeding of such hybrids can, however be notoriously difficult. When writing about hybrid pairs, the cock always comes first, e.g. greenfinch × goldfinch is a greenfinch cock over a goldfinch hen.

References

British Birds in Aviculture

External links