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This is the most common finch found in the British Isles but what is it?

British Birds - Finches

Finches are small songbirds with chunky beaks. Learn how they feed, flock, and sing, and how to spot common finches in gardens and woodlands.

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Fascinating Fact:

Many finches are sociable, and you often see them in flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes in mixed groups.

In Specialist Nature, finches are a brilliant group to learn because their beaks, songs and feeding habits give lots of clues. Many finches specialise in seeds, using strong bills to crack them, but they may also eat buds and insects, especially when feeding chicks. You can often identify a finch by looking at its size, bill shape, wing bars, and how it behaves at feeders. Listening helps too, as finches have distinctive calls and songs, and some species visit gardens while others prefer woodland edges and farmland hedgerows.

Key Terms

Bill: A bird’s beak, used for eating, carrying nest material, and sometimes fighting.
Seed-eater: An animal that gets much of its food from seeds, often with a strong bill for cracking them.
Flock: A group of birds feeding, resting or flying together.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What are the most common finches in UK gardens?

Some of the most common finches seen in UK gardens include chaffinches, goldfinches, greenfinches and bullfinches. Sightings vary by area and season, especially in winter.

How do I identify a finch by its beak?

Finches usually have short, strong, cone-shaped bills that help them crack seeds. Species that eat tougher seeds tend to have thicker bills, while smaller seed specialists often have slimmer ones.

What should I feed finches in a bird feeder?

Many finches do well on sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds and nyjer seed (especially for goldfinches). Clean feeders regularly and provide fresh water to help birds stay healthy.

Try These Related Quizzes

To see a larger image, click on the picture.

1 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of MPF

Eurasian Bullfinch

Eurasian Siskin

European Goldfinch

Lesser Redpoll

Group: Finches
Binomial: Carduelis carduelis
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Look for the bright red face and striking white, gold, black and brown on the rest of the body.
A group of them are called a "Charm".
Put out Niger seed to attract them to your birdtable.

2 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Pankratov-p

Eurasian Bullfinch

Eurasian Linnet

Brambling

European Greenfinch

Group: Finches
Binomial: Carduelis cannabina
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Once very popular as a cage bird because of its melodious song.
They are sometimes found several hundred miles at sea.
The bird's name has become the nickname of King's Lynn Football Club.

3 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Stuant63

Scottish Crossbill

Eurasian Bullfinch

Eurasian Siskin

European Goldfinch

Group: Finches
Binomial: Loxia scotica
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
It is the UK's only endemic bird species (ie one found nowhere else in the world).
It nests in pines or other conifers.

4 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://photo-natur.de/

Lesser Redpoll

Chaffinch

Eurasian Linnet

European Greenfinch

Group: Finches
Binomial: Carduelis chloris
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
The vivid green and yellow plumage on adult birds tends to fade in winter
Young birds are rather dull looking and can easily be mistaken for Sparrows
Loves to pick the peanuts and sunflower seeds from birdtables

5 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://photo-natur.de/

Chaffinch

European Goldfinch

Eurasian Bullfinch

Common Crossbill

Group: Finches
Binomial: Fringilla coelebs
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Look for the distinctive white wing bars on both males and females
Females and young have more subdued colours
The most common finch found in the British Isles

6 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.marekszczepanek.pl/

Brambling

European Goldfinch

Lesser Redpoll

European Greenfinch

Group: Finches
Binomial: Fringilla montifringilla
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Winter Visitor
This species is almost entirely migratory.
In Europe, it forms large flocks in the winter, sometimes with thousands or even millions of birds in a single flock.
It has been called Cock o' the North.

7 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Lawrie Phipps

Brambling

Eurasian Linnet

European Goldfinch

Lesser Redpoll

Group: Finches
Binomial: Carduelis cabaret
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
It is a sociable bird which usually forages in flocks.
Breeding pairs form in late winter. The breeding territory and several pairs will often nest close together in a loose colony.

8 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of Stawek Staszczuk

Eurasian Bullfinch

Eurasian Linnet

European Goldfinch

Eurasian Siskin

Group: Finches
Binomial: Carduelis spinus
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species And Winter Visitor
It has a distinctly forked tail and a long narrow bill.
This small bird is an acrobatic feeder, often hanging upside-down.
It will visit garden bird feeding stations.

9 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://www.naturespicsonline.com/

Common Crossbill

Eurasian Siskin

Eurasian Bullfinch

European Goldfinch

Group: Finches
Binomial: Loxia curvirostra
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
Its bill is crossed over at the tips.
Most often encountered in noisy family groups or larger flocks, usually flying close to treetop height.
It feeds acrobatically, fluttering from cone to cone.

10 .

What is the name of this bird?

Photograph courtesy of http://piqs.de/user/Geli/

Chaffinch

Eurasian Siskin

Eurasian Bullfinch

Common Crossbill

Group: Finches
Binomial: Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Status: Resident Breeding Species
It is a quiet, secretive but heavily built bird.
In keeping with its quiet nature, the song is a quiet warble.
Its call is a piped 'phew'.
Look for at woodland edges.

Did you know that finches are amongst the most popular birds kept as pets? If you have an interest in cage birds then you might like to visit birdcages.net where you will find a wealth of fascinating information.

Author: Sarah Garratty

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