1 / 5
Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) — photo 1 of 5
© mmlolek CC BY 2.0

Finches · Perching birds

Brambling

Fringilla montifringilla

Year-round

Voice

Call

Camille Vacher

0:03

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:05

Call

Lionel Triboulin

0:23

How to recognize it

  • Sparrow-sized

  • Male: black head and upperparts, brown-grey in winter

  • Orange breast, white rump

  • Female and young duller; flight call "tsee-tsee"

About the species

In winter, the brambling often turns up in flocks, and the males have a plain, brown-grey look with an orange breast and a white tip to the tail. Females are quieter in color, with a browner head and softer orange below.

Its song is a low, scratchy trill that ends in a sharp “chzhzh,” while the flight call is a quick “chi-chi” or “vzhyaa.” Outside the breeding season it can gather in large numbers, moving on in search of food.

It breeds in northern forests, especially mixed woodland, and spends the rest of the year farther south in Europe and Asia. In winter it eats mostly seeds, then switches to insects in summer.

Where to find

  • In mature city parks with large birches and pines — often at the canopy edge, giving a soft call while perched high.

  • In winter, around feeders and beneath trees in leaf litter, gathering fallen seeds in loose flocks.

  • Along the edges of big parks and wooded squares in spring — singing from treetops and calling to each other.

  • After snowfall on quiet lawns beside shrubs, hopping through old grass to pick out seeds.

You might also see

Sources