Definitions
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A natural family of birds of the finch group having short conical bills adapted for eating seeds, including finches, goldfinches, bullfinches, chaffinches, siskins, canaries, cardinals, grosbeaks, crossbills, linnets, and buntings. This family at one time included the sparrows of the family
Emberizinae , but has more recently been restricted in usage.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun finches: goldfinches; bullfinches; chaffinches; siskins; canaries; cardinals; grosbeaks; crossbills; linnets; buntings
Etymologies
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Examples
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If, at intervals, be heard the wild scream of the couguar, or the distant howling of wolves, these scarcely interrupt the music falling endlessly upon the ear -- the red cardinals, the orioles, the warbling _fringillidae_, and the polyglot thrushes -- who meet here, as if by agreement, to make this lovely sylvan spot the scene of their forest concerts.
The Wild Huntress Love in the Wilderness Mayne Reid 1850
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