Greenfinch - Carduelis chloris

Description

Its twittering and wheezing song, and a flash of yellow and green as it flies make this finch a truly colourful character. It has a noticeable forked tail when perched.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

A common countryside bird found in woods and hedges, but mostly found close to man on farmland and in parks, town and village gardens and orchards. Only absent from upland areas without trees and bushes.

When to see it

All year round

Life History

Nesting in a garden conifer, or feasting on black sunflower seeds, it is a popular garden visitor, able to take advantage of food in town and city gardens at a time when intensive agriculture has deprived it of many weed seeds in the countryside. Although quite sociable, they may squabble among themselves or with other birds at the bird table

UK Status

Common and widespread in Britain

VC55 Status

Common in Leicestershire and Rutland as a breeding bird but suffered a recent decline due to parasitic infection.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Greenfinch, European Greenfinch
Species group:
Birds
Kingdom:
Animalia
Order:
Passeriformes
Family:
Fringillidae
Records on NatureSpot:
768
First record:
03/06/1996 (John Thickitt)
Last record:
10/03/2024 (Gaten, Ted)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

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