Wilson's Finch
 |
| Click image to enlarge |
Wilson’s Finch, Tristisolus wilsonii L 16-22 cm, WS 30-34 cm, Family: Fringillidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered (EN)
Description:
Medium-sized finch with notched tail and disproportionately large, conical
bill. White head and undersides, sandy upperparts and a distinctive
black-and-white striped wing patch. Bill and legs bright orange. Sand-colored cheek
spot, and in males an obvious black vertical stripe below the eye. Females darker or
grayer overall and lack teardrop stripe. Juveniles appear similar to females.
Voice:
Song
is a complex series of varied tweets, warbles, and mechanic-sounding buzzes,
usually lasting four seconds, and pattern differs between individuals, but
usually starts with warbles and ends with multiple buzzes on different pitches.
Buzzing phrases sound robotic, similar to the unrelated Yellow-collared
Blackbird. Calls also varied; most common call is a high-pitched Yip-yip
and various whispered yips used as contact calls between mated pairs or
individuals within a flock.
Range and Habitat:
Rare,
range encompasses much of eastern Novasola, not found west of the divide. Habitat
generalists, Wilson’s Finches will be found in most habitat types, from montane
forests to prairie and grasslands, but they prefer open woodlands, scrubland, burned
areas, and forest edge. Birds of the prairie interior prefer areas with more
woody vegetation like riparian areas or dense sagebrush. Can be found in abandoned
structures like barns and silos, but rarely seen in suburban or urban areas.
Discussion:
Novasola
offers many challenges for taxonomists, who constantly struggle to categorize or
explain the evolutionary relationships between endemic species, and often
disagree with each other. The rare and magnetic Wilson’s Finch, also often called a Wilson's Grosbeak, is one such
example that still stumps and confuses scientists, with the tumultuous discussion
of its evolutionary history causing constant contention. It is generally
accepted now that the Wilson’s Finch belongs with other finches in the family Fringillidae,
though it was long considered the only Nearctic member of the family Estrilidae.
Some have even suggested the finch evolved from Indonesian species which
somehow found their way to Novasola. Instead, the most accepted view is that much
of the finch’s similarities to some Estrilid finches of Australasia seem coincidental or the product of convergent
evolution. Where T. wilsonii belongs within Fringillidae however is
poorly understood, and this lack of knowledge is only exacerbated by the bird’s
rarity. Wilson’s Finches are uncommon to rare within most of their range, and
their populations are decreasing rapidly, and it was recently listed as an endangered
species under the Endangered Species Act. Captive breeding programs, as well as
crackdowns on the illegal trade of Wilson’s Finches on the black market, have
shown marginal to somewhat promising results.
In
captivity the finches are often fed standard mixed birdseed and they have shown
a strong affinity for sunflower seeds and suet. In the wild, the diet of the Wilson’s
Finch consists almost entirely of hard seeds, especially from pines, juniper,
cherry, madrone, and oak acorns, with the occasional beetle, though populations
in the interior grasslands have shown a significantly higher proportion of
invertebrates in their diet, likely to compensate for the lack of tree nuts.
Active foragers, T. wilsonii bounce and flutter from perch to perch
looking for food and emit constant chatter and noise.
Extremely
social, Wilson’s Finches will forage in medium to large flocks, despite their
rarity. Individuals within a flock often engage in bonding activities like
roosting together, pruning one another, and feeding each other. During the
breeding season Wilson’s Finches will form nest colonies, and research has
shown a number of individuals will care for chicks besides the actual parents.
These complex social relationships are crucial to the finches’ development and
are a topic of much research. Before the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
Wilson’s Finches were commonly caught and sold as pets, and still are sold
illegally, and it is thought this pressure helped expediate their population
declines, as captive birds were often raised and kept away from other finches,
and wild flocks were constantly losing members to the trade, decreasing the
overall ability for the flock to raise chicks. New research out of Novasola
State University focuses on Wilson’s Finch social behaviors and how their
health has been impacted by a dcreasing population, and some researchers are
using these birds to better understand depression in non-human animals.
The
name Wilson’s Finch honors Alexander Wilson, famed ornithologist often
considered the “Grandfather of American Ornithology”. Many other names have been used to describe the bird throughout the years, and two still heard often today are the Clownfinch and the Wilson's Grosbeak, which is the original name used in Richard Reichwald's description. The genus name Tristisolus
comes from the Latin for “sorrowful” and “alone”, and was coined by Reichwald after he observed a captive pet male stop singing and even stop
eating once its brother and fellow cage companion had died.
Not
much is known about the unique and charismatic Wilson’s Finch. Between 1902 and 1904 during
Reichwald’s time in the Novasolan Research Corps Wilson’s Finches were already
uncommon in the wild and most of his encounters with the bird were with captive
individuals kept as pets, which was a fairly common practice across the island.
By 1912, when he published Native Birds, Reichwald had only observed two
wild Wilson’s Finch flocks, and as a result they are hardly referenced in NRC
expedition materials.
“I
had this morning been invited by a Mr. Semler to dine with him at his home just
south of town. He and I had met earlier today at the pier as I was waiting for our
next shipment of paper to arrive. After some cordial conversation, Mr. Semler
revealed himself to be intimately familiar with my profession and that he was
an outdoorsman himself, and an avid reader of Forest and Stream.
…
Afterwards,
to let our stomachs do that work for which the are so expert, we retreated to
the parlor, the northwest corner of which immediately stole my curiosity. In
that well lit space between two corner windows was placed a large bird cage,
excitedly brimming with six small birds of the most peculiar kind. These birds
were no doubt asleep before we had entered the room, all of them perched
tightly against each other, as if there were none of the other perches around
them. Our entrance disturbed them to consciousness, and soon the room rang in a
cacophony of chirps, whirs, and grating. These white little finches with their painted
faces and brilliant blood bills appeared as clowns or jesters, which was only accentuated
by their playful demeanors and wild honking.
Mr.
Semler calls them simply White Finches, and states he purchased them here in
Cape George. No question can be made of whether this bird is native to the Fastwaters,
so unlike any in America I have yet seen, and I am enthused that I might soon
behold wild numbers of this clownish fowl outside this cage.” – Reichwald personal
diary, March 20, 1902
“Upon
that ridge I could see the entirety of the gully before me, which was wide and was
wanting in the way of shade. Mostly carpeted in sandy rock and islands of sage,
there stood the occasional juniper or cottonwood, and small oak shrubs grew
from the valley’s north ridge. It was from that ridge I heard the at once
familiar caterwauling of Mr. Semler’s white finches. Sure as a blue sea, moments
later I saw flashes of white move between the oaks and the bleached granite
outcrops, against which the finches were surprisingly well camouflaged but for
their outrageous mandibles. The group must have numbered at least twenty birds,
which had fled over the ridge and left me in silence almost as quickly as they
had beset me.” – Expedition log, August 2, 1902
“Like
many I have met here, Mrs. Hulse has in her company a pair of domestic
clownfinches. I have remarked on several visits of their youthful buoyancy, but
it seems that may not be inherent to the finches’ every experience. Mrs. Hulse
has suggested that since the death of all but one of her finches, the sole
survivor has ceased in any behaviors beyond that which is necessary to survive,
and rarely leaves its nest. She has kindly agreed to allow me to take
possession of this bird, so that I might study it more closely, not least
because I am curious to this shift in attitude, but also because I have yet had
time to properly describe the bird for science, and this specimen should help
in that regard.” – Reichwald personal diary, May 9, 1905
“In
the two weeks under my possession, this finch which I named Wilson has found neither
the time nor desire to leave its nest. He has not only starved himself of exercise
and of his music, but starved himself of food as well. I fear his mood is
inconsolable. What was only four months ago a bouncing clown has become a
sullen, sunken Paggliacio. A pale face with black tears.” – Personal diary, May
23, 1905
“In
spite of my humors and want for naming them Paggliaci birds, I took the advice of
Captain Dyer and reserved myself. Instead, I shall call them Wilson’s Grosbeaks,
to the rest of the world in honor of a Mr. Alexander Wilson, but to me a
monument to that sad little creature which gave me my only real experience with
the species.” – Personal diary, July 28, 1911.