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Finches (Fringillidae)

European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) - HBW 15, p. 561

French: Chardonneret élégant German: Stieglitz Spanish: Jilguero Europeo
Other common names: Eurasian Goldfinch; Grey-crowned/Eastern Goldfinch ("caniceps group")

Taxonomy: Fringilla carduelis Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Has hybridized with C. chloris. Races form two groups, W black-crowned "carduelis group" (also with britannica, volgensis, frigoris, parva, tschusii, balcanica, colchica, niediecki and loudoni) and E grey-headed "caniceps group" (also with paropanisi, subulata and ultima); groups sometimes treated as two distinct species, but they hybridize in N Iran and probably in SC Russia. Race brevirostris, described from Baki (E Azerbaijan), is poorly differentiated, also name invalid, as preo.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Fringilla carduelis Linnaeus, 1758, Sweden.
Has hybridized with C. chloris. Races form two groups, W black-crowned "carduelis group" (also with britannica, volgensis, frigoris, parva, tschusii, balcanica, colchica, niediecki and loudoni) and E grey-headed "caniceps group" (also with paropanisi, subulata and ultima); groups sometimes treated as two distinct species, but they hybridize in N Iran and probably in SC Russia. Race brevirostris, described from Baki (E Azerbaijan), is poorly differentiated, also name invalid, as preoccupied, and synonymized with loudoni; likewise, major (described from Turkestan) preoccupied, and replaced by new name frigoris. Fourteen subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • britannica ( E. J. O. Hartert, 1903) - British Is and NW France E to W Netherlands; non-breeding also SW Europe and Morocco.
  • carduelis ( Linnaeus, 1758) - S Scandinavia and SE Finland E to C Urals, S to C France, Italy, Slovenia, NW Romania, Moldova, N Ukraine and middle R Volga; non-breeding C & S Europe E to W Kazakhstan.
  • volgensis Buturlin, 1906 - S Ukraine, SE European Russia and NW Kazakhstan; non-breeding S to NE Romania.

     See all 14 subspecies
  • britannica ( E. J. O. Hartert, 1903) - British Is and NW France E to W Netherlands; non-breeding also SW Europe and Morocco.
  • carduelis ( Linnaeus, 1758) - S Scandinavia and SE Finland E to C Urals, S to C France, Italy, Slovenia, NW Romania, Moldova, N Ukraine and middle R Volga; non-breeding C & S Europe E to W Kazakhstan.
  • volgensis Buturlin, 1906 - S Ukraine, SE European Russia and NW Kazakhstan; non-breeding S to NE Romania.
  • frigoris Wolters, 1953 - SW & SC Siberia from E Urals E to R Yenisey, S to W Altai and N & NE Kazakhstan; non-breeding SW Russia and S Urals S to S Kazakhstan.
  • parva Tschusi, 1901 - Madeira and Canary Is, S France, Iberia, Balearic Is, and Morocco E to N Libya.
  • tschusii Arrigoni, 1902 - Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily.
  • balcanica Sachtleben, 1919 - Balkans S to Greece, Crete and NW Turkey.
  • colchica Koudashev, 1915 - Crimea and N Caucasus.
  • niediecki Reichenow, 1907 - Rhodes, and W, SC & NE Turkey E to S Caucasus, also Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, SW Iran, N Egypt (Nile Delta and Nile Valley) and N Iraq.
  • loudoni Zarudny, 1906 - E Turkey, Azerbaijan and N Iran; winters S to S Iran.
  • paropanisi Kollibay, 1910 - W Turkmenistan and E Iran E to N, C & E Afghanistan, W Pamirs, Tien Shan, SE Kazakhstan and NW China (NW Xinjiang); non-breeding SW Asia.
  • subulata ( Gloger, 1833) - NE Kazakhstan, SC Russia (E to L Baikal) and NW Mongolia; non-breeding SW & C Asia.
  • ultima Koelz, 1949 - S Iran (SE Fars and Kerman).
  • caniceps Vigors, 1831 - W & N Pakistan (Baluchistan and North-West Frontier Province), Kashmir and NW Himalayas E to C Nepal and SW China (SW Xizang).
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