Field Guide
🐦
Linnet
Linaria cannabina
Not yet photographed by the community
Farmland finch with rosy-red breast in summer males.
Species Profile
Red List (UK Birds of Conservation Concern)
- Lifespan
- 7–9 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 12–13 cm, wingspan 21–25 cm; 12–16 g
- Habitat
- Open grassland, heathland, farmland margins, and weedy areas with scattered scrub and thistles.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread throughout the UK, particularly in southern and central England, Wales, and southern Scotland. Resident year-round, with some continental birds joining populations in winter.
- Diet
- Seeds from thistles, teasels, dandelions, and other wild plants; also feeds on cultivated seeds including linseed and hemp.
- Predators
- Sparrowhawks, merlin, and occasionally kestrels; corvids and magpies may take eggs and chicks.
- Mating Season
- May to August
- Breeding
- Clutch of 4–6 pale blue eggs; incubation period 10–11 days; fledging at 13–14 days. Usually two broods per season, sometimes three.
- Behaviour
- Highly gregarious, especially in winter, forming large flocks that feed and roost together. Males have striking red faces and breasts during breeding season. They are acrobatic fliers with a distinctive bouncing flight pattern and melodious, twittering song.
- •The Linnet's scientific name, Linaria cannabina, refers to its historical association with hemp and linseed crops.
- •Males acquire their bright red plumage only during the breeding season; winter plumage is much duller.
- •Linnets are highly social and winter flocks can contain hundreds of birds mixed with goldfinches and other finches.
- •The UK population has declined by over 50% since the 1990s, primarily due to agricultural intensification reducing seed-bearing plants.
- •They have a distinctive, liquid song often delivered from the top of low bushes or in flight during display.
🐦
No photos yet
Be the first to photograph a Linnet and share it with the community.