The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus Chloris in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa.
These finches all have large conical bills and yellow patches on the wing feathers.
The greenfinches were formerly placed in the genus Carduelis. Molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the greenfinches form a monophyletic group that is not closely related to the species in Carduelis and instead is sister to a clade containing the desert finch (Rhodospiza obsoleta) and the Socotra golden-winged grosbeak (Rhynchostruthus socotranus). The greenfinches were therefore moved to the resurrected genus Chloris which had originally been introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800 with the European greenfinch as the type species. The year on the title page is An VIII. The name is from Ancient Greek khloris, the European greenfinch, from khloros, "green".
Extant species The genus contains six species: Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Chloris ambigua Black-headed greenfinch Yunnan, northern Laos, eastern Myanmar and adjacent areas of Vietnam, Thailand and northeastern India Chloris chloris European greenfinch Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia Chloris sinica Oriental greenfinch East Asia Chloris kittlitzi Bonin greenfinch The Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands Chloris monguilloti Vietnamese greenfinch southern Vietnam Chloris spinoides Yellow-breasted greenfinch Northern regions of the Indian subcontinent
Fossil species
Trias greenfinch (Chloris triasi) - Holocene of La Palma, the Canary Islands, Spain Slender-billed greenfinch (Chloris aurelioi) - Holocene of Tenerife, the Canary Islands, Spain
References