9403263 Chu Cardueline finch (subfamily Carduelinae, family Fringillidae) species exhibit considerable interspecific differences in plumage colors, and extent to which it varies with age. Comparative methods will be employed to test hypotheses about the evolution of plumage coloration patterns among cardueline lineages: cladistic analyses will be performed on morphological and behavioral characters. That framework will then serve to anchor further research on the evolution of plumage characters (including their variation with age) and the evolution of carotenoid - based color displays. %%% More is known of control and function of plumage coloration in cardueline finches than for any other group of passerine birds, but investigation into even this group have been hampered by the lack of a robust phylogeny. Substantial progress with this taxon will provide a procedural model for similar analyses of additional taxa in the future, and as a demonstration of the puissance of rigorous systematic methods in elaborating evolutionary "adornment" among vertebrate fauna. Systematics provides a fundamental "guide" for study of other facets of any given taxon's biology, within the context of the planet's overwhelming biodiversity. ***
