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) "Don't Dilly Dally on the Way", subtitled "The Cock Linnet Song" and often credited as "My Old Man (Said Follow the Van)", is a music hall song written in 1919 by Fred W. Leigh and Charles Collins, made popular by Marie Lloyd. The song, althoug ...

", in the line, "I walked behind wiv me old cock linnet..." referring to the

linnet The common linnet (''Linaria cannabina'') is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, ''Linaria'', from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English na ...

(''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 Goldfinch or The Goldfinch may refer to: Birds * European goldfinch, ''Carduelis carduelis'' * Some species of the genus '' Spinus'': ** American goldfinch, ''Spinus tristis'' ** Lawrence's goldfinch, ''Spinus lawrencei'' ** Lesser 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 The genus ''Fringilla'' is a small group of eight species of finches from the Old World. It is the only genus in the subfamily Fringillinae. Taxonomy The genus ''Fringilla'' was described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the 1 ...

'' - bramblings and chaffinches **

Common chaffinch The Eurasian chaffinch, common chaffinch, or simply the chaffinch (''Fringilla coelebs'') is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The fema ...

(''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 ...

redpoll The redpoll (''Acanthis flammea'') is a species of small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Acanthis''. It breeds in the Arctic and north temperate Holarctic tundra and taiga. The redp ...

s, goldfinches, greenfinches, some

siskin The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words ''sisschen'', ''zeischen'', which are diminutive forms of Middle High German (''zîsec'') and Middle Low German (''ziseke'', ''sisek'') words, wit ...

s **

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 The redpoll (''Acanthis flammea'') is a species of small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Acanthis''. It breeds in the Arctic and north temperate Holarctic tundra and taiga. The redp ...

(''Acanthis flammea'') **

Siskin The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words ''sisschen'', ''zeischen'', which are diminutive forms of Middle High German (''zîsec'') and Middle Low German (''ziseke'', ''sisek'') words, wit ...

(''Spinus spinus'') **

Goldfinch Goldfinch or The Goldfinch may refer to: Birds * European goldfinch, ''Carduelis carduelis'' * Some species of the genus '' Spinus'': ** American goldfinch, ''Spinus tristis'' ** Lawrence's goldfinch, ''Spinus lawrencei'' ** Lesser goldfinch, ...

(''Carduelis carduelis'') **

Twite The twite (''Linaria flavirostris'') is a small brown passerine bird in the finch family (biology), family Fringillidae. It is a partially migratory species that is found in a strongly disjunct distribution in northern Europe, and in Asian mount ...

(''Linaria flavirostris'') **

Linnet The common linnet (''Linaria cannabina'') is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, ''Linaria'', from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English na ...

(''Linaria cannabina'') *Genus ''

Loxia Crossbills are birds of the genus ''Loxia'' within the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterized by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange ...

'' -

crossbills Crossbills are birds of the genus ''Loxia'' within the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterized by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange ...

Common crossbill The red crossbill or common crossbill (''Loxia curvirostra'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. Crossbills have distinctive mandibles, crossed at the tips, which enable them to extract seeds from conifer cones and other ...

(''Loxia species'') (Note: In Victorian times the

Scottish crossbill The Scottish crossbill (''Loxia scotica'') is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is endemic to the Caledonian Forests of Scotland, and is the only terrestrial vertebrate species endemic to the United Kingdom. The Scottish ...

had not been identified) *Genus ''

Pyrrhula Pyrrhula is a small genus of passerine birds, commonly called bullfinches, belonging to the finch family (Fringillidae). The genus has a Palearctic distribution; almost all species occur in Asia, with two species exclusively in the Himalayas and ...

'' -

bullfinch Bullfinch is a name given to two groups of passerine birds. True bullfinches The true bullfinches are thick-billed finches in the passerine family Fringillidae. They comprise the genus '' Pyrrhula''. These birds are distributed across Asia and Eu ...

es **

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

, 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

× goldfinch and even such beauties as

crossbill Crossbills are birds of the genus ''Loxia'' within the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterized by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange ...

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

{{Commons category Aviculture Fringillidae

Finches 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 ...