Fringilla

Fringilla is a genus of small birds, family Fringillidae, the true finches, comprising eight species as of a major 2021 genetic, morphological and behavioural study that split what had been treated as one widespread species into several distinct taxa. The genus is native to the Old World, chiefly Europe and western Asia, with the Eurasian chaffinch inhabiting forest habitats there and other species occurring in North Africa, Macaronesia and as island endemics in the Canary Islands. Members measure 14 to 18 centimeters, fly with a bouncing pattern of alternating flapping and gliding on closed wings, and are less dietarily specialized than other finches, eating both insects and seeds, feeding their young on insects rather than seeds unlike related genera; the genus name is Latin for finch.