Overview
Twite: Small, Robin-sized finch. Tawny head with dark brown streaks on crown, nape, and cheeks. Unmarked tawny around eye and on throat. Black line through eye. Thick, dark brown streaks on pale brown back and white underparts. Brown-pink rump. White edging in dark brown wings and tail.
Range and Habitat
Twite: Summer breeder and winter visitor to the UK & Ireland. Birds can be seen all year. Breeding birds are found on upland moors in Scotland and the Pennines. In winter, birds shift to Wales, and the east coast of England. Breeding birds prefer moorlands, wintering birds are found at coastal wetlands.
Finches (Fringillidae)
ORDER
Also known as perching birds, the order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez) is composed of one hundred and eighteen families of birds, among which are the insectivorous warblers and the seed-eating finches.
FAMILY TAXONOMY
The Fringillidae (pronounced frin-JIHL-lih-dee) is a widespread bird family found on most continents and includes two hundred and seven species of finches in thirty-nine genera (IOC World Bird List, version 2.3).
EUROPE
Thirty-four species of finches in thirteen genera have occurred in Europe. These include familiar feeder visitors such as goldfinches and siskins, the crossbills, and the massive-billed Hawfinch.
KNOWN FOR
Finches are known for their seed-eating behaviour and cheery songs; characteristics that facilitated and popularized the domestication of the Island Canary. Finches such as White-winged Crossbills are also known for their “irruptive” migrations in search of food sources that can make them locally common one winter and absent the next.
PHYSICAL
Finches are primarily small birds with stout, short bills adapted to cracking open seeds and have short legs for a mostly arboreal lifestyle. Many species also have slightly forked tails and long wings useful for the large amount of flying needed to find seeding plants.
COLORATION
European finches are generally plumaged in shades of red, yellow, brown, grey, and dull green. Male finches are more brightly coloured than females; the pinkish-red, grey, black, and white plumage of male Bullfinches being especially striking.
GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT
Finches in Europe occupy forest and non-forest habitats, coniferous forests being favoured by some species. The non-forest niche is filled by a variety of species including goldfinches, the Linnet, Twite, and the Trumpeter Finch.
MIGRATION
Most finches are adapted to cold weather and only migrate when seed crops on their breeding grounds become scarce. An exception to this is the Common Rosefinch which migrates from north-eastern Europe to India for the winter.
HABITS
Members of the finch family are very social birds typically found in flocks outside of the breeding season. Most finches forage for seeds in trees and bushes although a few species take some insects and forage on the ground.
CONSERVATION
While finches in Europe are doing quite well, most members of this family native to the Hawaiian Islands are highly endangered with many having already gone extinct and others in decline because of their high susceptibility to introduced diseases such as avian malaria and changes to the native forests they inhabit.
INTERESTING FACTS
The aptly named crossbills have curious curved bills with crossed tips. Although it looks more like a bill deformity than a useful tool, this specialized bill shape is perfect for extracting seeds from pine cones.