Rosefinch
Genus of birds
title: "Rosefinch" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["carpodacus"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/carpodacus" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosefinch" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
::callout[type=note] The rosefinches should not be confused with the rosy finches in the genus [[Mountain finch ::
| name = Rosefinches | image = Carpodacus roseus.jpg | image_caption = Pallas's rosefinch (Carpodacus roseus) | taxon = Carpodacus | authority = Kaup, 1829 | type_species = Fringilla rosea | type_species_authority = Pallas, 1776 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text.
The rosefinches are a genus, Carpodacus, of passerine birds in the finch family Fringillidae. Most are called "rosefinches" and as the word implies, have various shades of red in their plumage. The common rosefinch is frequently called the "rosefinch". The genus name is from the Ancient Greek terms karpos, "fruit", and dakno, "to bite".
The Carpodacus rosefinches occur throughout Eurasia, but the greatest diversity is found in the Sino-Himalayas suggesting that the species originated in this region.
Taxonomy
The genus Carpodacus was introduced in 1829 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The type species was designated by George Gray in 1842 as Fringilla rosea Pallas, 1776, Pallas's rosefinch. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek * karpos* meaning "fruit" with dakos meaning "biter".
In 2012, Zuccon and colleagues published a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of the finch family. Based both on their own results and those published earlier by other groups, they proposed a series of changes to the taxonomy. They found that the three North American rosefinches, namely Cassin's finch, purple finch, and house finch, formed a separate clade that was not closely related to the Palearctic rosefinches. They proposed moving the three species to a separate genus Haemorhous. Zuccon and colleagues also found that the common rosefinch (Carpodacus erythrinus) fell outside the core rosefinch clade and was a sister to the scarlet finch (at the time Haematospiza sipahi). They recommended that the common rosefinch should be moved to a new monotypic genus with the resurrected name of Erythrina. The British Ornithologists' Union accepted this proposal, but the International Ornithological Union chose instead to adopt a more inclusive Carpodacus which incorporated Haematospiza as well as the monotypic genus Chaunoproctus containing the extinct Bonin grosbeak. The long-tailed rosefinch that had previously been included in the monotypic genus Uragus was also moved into Carpodacus.
Two species that were formerly included in the genus, Blanford's rosefinch and the dark-breasted rosefinch, were shown to not be closely related to the other species in the group. They were moved to separate monotypic genera, Blanford's rosefinch to Agraphospiza and the dark-breasted rosefinch to Procarduelis.
There have been a number of rosefinch radiations. First to split off were the ancestors of the North American species, the common rosefinch, and the scarlet finch, generally placed in its own genus. These groups, which may be related, diverged in the Middle Miocene (about 14–12 mya) from the proto-rosefinches. Each of these groups probably should constitute a distinct genus; in the case of the North American species, this is Haemorhous. The types of the genera Erythrina Brehm 1829 and Carpodacus Kaup 1829 are frequently considered to be the common rosefinch, but both refer to Pallas's rosefinch.
Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Hawaiian honeycreepers are closely related to the rosefinches in the genus Carpodacus. The most recent common ancestor has been variously estimate at 7.24 million years ago (mya)
Przewalski's "rosefinch" (Urocynchramus pylzowi) has been determined to be not a rosefinch, and indeed not a true finch at all, but to constitute a monotypic family Urocynchramidae.
Species
The genus Carpodacus contains 28 species. They all include 'rosefinch' in their English names apart from the scarlet finch, the crimson-browed finch and the extinct Bonin grosbeak. ::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus Male by Dr Raju Kasambe (1).jpg | 120px]] | Common rosefinch | Carpodacus erythrinus |
| [[File:Scarlet Finch (23870224557).jpg | 120px]] | Scarlet finch | Carpodacus sipahi |
| †Bonin grosbeak | Carpodacus ferreorostris (extinct) | Chichi-jima in the Ogasawara Islands. | |
| [[File:Streaked Rosefinch.jpg | 120px]] | Streaked rosefinch | Carpodacus rubicilloides |
| [[File:Great Rosefinch.jpg | 120px]] | Great rosefinch | Carpodacus rubicilla |
| [[File:Blyth's Rosefinch.jpg | 120px]] | Blyth's rosefinch | Carpodacus grandis |
| [[File:Red-mantled Rosefinch - Almaty - Kazakistan S4E4053 (23051167291).jpg | 120px]] | Red-mantled rosefinch | Carpodacus rhodochlamys |
| [[File:Beautiful Rosefinch - Eaglenest - India FJ0A7692 (34246361826).jpg | 120px]] | Himalayan beautiful rosefinch | Carpodacus pulcherrimus |
| Chinese beautiful rosefinch | Carpodacus davidianus | China | |
| Pink-rumped rosefinch | Carpodacus waltoni | central China and eastern Tibet | |
| [[File:Pink-browed Rosefinch Nanda Devi National Park Uttarakhand India 17.11.2013.jpg | 120px]] | Pink-browed rosefinch | Carpodacus rodochroa |
| [[File:Dark-rumped Rosefinch East Sikkim India 12.05.2014.jpg | 120px]] | Dark-rumped rosefinch | Carpodacus edwardsii |
| Spot-winged rosefinch | Carpodacus rodopeplus | India and Nepal | |
| Sharpe's rosefinch | Carpodacus verreauxii | central China and far northern Myanmar. | |
| [[File:Vinaceous Rosefinch.jpg | 120px]] | Vinaceous rosefinch | Carpodacus vinaceus |
| [[File:Taiwan Rosefinch Carpodacus formosanus, male, Taiwan.jpg | 120px]] | Taiwan rosefinch | Carpodacus formosanus |
| [[File:Carpodacus synoicus male(01).jpg | 120px]] | Sinai rosefinch | Carpodacus synoicus |
| Pale rosefinch | Carpodacus stoliczkae | Afghanistan and China | |
| [[File:Tibetan Rosefinch imported from iNaturalist photo 66203366 on 18 April 2022.jpg | 120px]] | Tibetan rosefinch | Carpodacus roborowskii |
| Sillem's rosefinch | Carpodacus sillemi | China, Japan, Kazakhstan, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia. | |
| [[File:Uragus sibiricus.jpg | 120px]] | Siberian long-tailed rosefinch | Carpodacus sibiricus |
| Chinese long-tailed rosefinch | Carpodacus lepidus | China | |
| [[File:Carpodacus roseus.jpg | 120px]] | Pallas's rosefinch | Carpodacus roseus |
| Three-banded rosefinch | Carpodacus trifasciatus | central China and far northeastern India. | |
| [[File:White-browed Rosefinch (♂) Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary Sikkim India 17.04.2015.jpg | 120px]] | Himalayan white-browed rosefinch | Carpodacus thura |
| [[File:Chinese White-browed Rosefinch.jpg | 120px]] | Chinese white-browed rosefinch | Carpodacus dubius |
| [[File:Red-fronted Rosefinch - Shreeram - Zanskar.jpg | 120px]] | Red-fronted rosefinch | Carpodacus puniceus |
| [[File:Crimson-browed Finch - Bhutan S4E8757 (22647757219).jpg | 120px]] | Crimson-browed finch | Carpodacus subhimachalus |
| :: |
References
References
- . ["Fringillidae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=196). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
- Kaup, Johann Jakob. (1829). "Skizzirte Entwickelungs-Geschichte und natürliches System der europäischen Thierwelt". Carl Wilhelm Leske.
- (1968). "Check-List of Birds of the World". Museum of Comparative Zoology.
- Gray, George Robert. (1842). "Appendix to a List of the Genera of Birds". R. and J.E. Taylor.
- Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
- (2012). "The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- (July 2023). "Finches, euphonias". International Ornithologists' Union.
- Chesser, R. Terry. (2012). "Fifty-third Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds". The Auk.
- (2013). "Taxonomic recommendations for Western Palearctic birds: ninth report". Ibis.
- Banks, Richard C.. (July 1995). "Comments on the Status of Revived Old Names for Some North American Birds". The Auk.
- (2013). "Complete phylogeny and historical biogeography of true rosefinches (Aves: ''Carpodacus'')". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
- Groth, J. G.. (2000). "Molecular evidence for the systematic position of ''Urocynchramus pylzowi''". Auk.
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