any songbird of the family Fringillidae, having a short stout bill for feeding on seeds and, in most species, a bright plumage in the male. Common examples are the goldfinch, bullfinch, chaffinch, siskin, and canary
2.
any of various similar or related birds
▶ Related adjective: fringilline
Word origin
Old English finc; related to Old High German finko, Middle Dutch vinker, Greek spingos
finch in American English
(fɪntʃ)
noun
any of various small, short-beaked, seed-eating passerine birds (esp. family Fringillidae), including redpolls, canaries, crossbills, goldfinches,and chaffinches
Word origin
ME < OE finc, akin to Ger fink < IE echoic base *(s)pingo-, chirping bird > Welsh pink, Gr spingos, finch
a brownish Old World finch , Acanthis cannabina : the male has a red breast and forehead
rosy finch
any of several finches of the genus Leucosticte , occurring in mountainous regions of North America and Asia . They have brown or grey plumage with pink patches on the wings , rump , and tail
zebra finch
any of various Australasian songbirds with zebra-like markings, such as the grassfinch Poephila castanotis
purple finch
a North American finch , Carpodacus purpureus , having a raspberry-red head , breast , and rump
weaver finch
any of a number of Old World finches (family Ploceidae) that weave elaborate domed nests of sticks , grass, etc.
Gouldian finch
a multicoloured finch , Chloebia gouldiae , of tropical N Australia
pine siskin
a North American finch , Spinus pinus, having a streaked yellowish-brown plumage
vesper sparrow
a gray-brown North American sparrow ( Pooecetes gramineus ) with white outer tail feathers
indigo bunting
a North American bunting , Passerina cyanea, the male of which is bright blue and the female brown