Field Guide
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Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
Not yet photographed by the community
One of the UK's most common birds, with double white wing bars.
Species Profile
Green List (not of conservation concern in the UK)
- Lifespan
- 10–14 years in the wild, with the oldest recorded UK bird being over 14 years old
- Size & Weight
- 12–13 cm, wingspan 21–25 cm; 18–22 g
- Habitat
- Woodlands, hedgerows, gardens, parks, and scrubland with scattered trees and open ground for foraging.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout the UK as a resident species; populations are supplemented by Continental migrants in autumn and winter, with some UK birds migrating south in winter.
- Diet
- Seeds from teasels, dandelions, thistles, and other small-seeded plants; insects and spiders during breeding season; will visit bird feeders for nyjer and sunflower seeds.
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, Eurasian kestrels, cats, and corvids; eggs and chicks vulnerable to magpies and jays.
- Mating Season
- April to July
- Breeding
- Clutch of 4–5 eggs; incubation period 11–13 days; fledging at 12–15 days; typically one brood per year, occasionally two.
- Behaviour
- Highly social birds, often seen in flocks outside the breeding season. Males are highly territorial and vocal, with a distinctive, cheerful song. They exhibit strong pair bonds and males display vibrantly to attract females.
- •Male chaffinches have distinctive blue-grey heads and warm peachy-pink underparts, whilst females are more subdued brown and grey, making them easy to sex in the field
- •The scientific name 'coelebs' means 'bachelor', as early ornithologists noticed males and females seemed to winter separately in different locations
- •Their song has regional dialects, with birds in different parts of Europe having noticeably different song patterns—a phenomenon called 'bird dialect'
- •Chaffinches are highly adaptable and have colonised urban and suburban areas extensively over the past century
- •They have a characteristic bouncing flight pattern and are often heard before seen, with their distinctive 'chink-chink' contact call
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