Bird of the Month: The Greenfinch

I am particularly fond of Greenfinches. I love their flash of colour, sociable nature, beautiful faces, and robust beaks. Plus their raspy, characterful birdsong that begins in March and, for me, signifies the start of spring.

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What they look like

They have a stout, chunky bill for crushing seeds. Males have a grey-green head and greenish body, while the females are a duller brown across both their upper and lower parts. The tails and large primary wing feathers of males and females are edged in yellow, giving a distinctive bright streak to their plumage. They weigh around 28g. The greenfinch is larger than a robin but smaller than a blackbird.

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What they eat

Greenfinches are happy to visit garden feeders, particularly when seeds and grains become scarce during winter. Like most seed-eating birds, they feed their young on protein-rich invertebrates in the first days after hatching. Then, going forward, they give their nestlings regurgitated seeds. The adults also enjoy berries, fruits and plant buds.

How do they breed?

The breeding season begins in March when the Greenfinch male shows off their yellow feathers and performs loud display flights in a bid to attract a female. They then build small cup-sized nests within dense vegetation from twigs, moss and grass. Sometimes alone or within a small colony. Generally, two broods will be produced over the summer. There will be about six eggs per brood, which will hatch about 14 days later and then fledge just two short weeks after that.

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Where do they live?

They can be found all throughout the UK, in both rural and urban environments. You can often see them in parks and domestic gardens but also farms and woodland. During the winter, as they search for food, Greenfinches will form flocks with other finches such as the Siskin or Goldfinch, making for a beautiful, sociable sight.

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Conservation 

Greenfinches have been in decline since 2006 when it was noted that Trichomonas gallinae - a disease caused by a parasite - significantly affected them. The disease affects several British birds, but the Greenfinch population is almost 70% lower than it was back in 1967.

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