Finches · Perching birds
Eurasian Bullfinch
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Pyrrhula pyrrhula
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Voice
Call
Sonothèque ADVL
Song
Jurijs Ješkins
Alarm
Sonothèque ADVL
How to recognize it
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Sparrow-sized, compact, big-headed finch
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Black cap and bill, white rump; black wings and tail
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Male: rich red cheeks, breast, belly and flanks
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Female: grey-buff instead of red; quiet low whistled call
About the species
Eurasian Bullfinch has a calm, compact look, with a short bill and soft, rounded lines. In winter, that warm breast is especially easy to notice against snow and bare branches.
It usually stays in pairs or small family groups rather than noisy flocks. Its call is quiet, drawn out, and slightly wistful, while the song is only audible up close.
It lives in woodland, gardens, and parks with trees and shrubs. It feeds on seeds, buds, and berries, and some northern populations move south in winter.
Did you know?
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Frost-proof on fatty ash
Fatty ash seeds give the bullfinch enough fuel to ride out any frost without a warm shelter — so long as no owl spots him on an open branch.
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Strips a tree clean
A bullfinch strips a tree from crown to lower branches so neatly it drops only two or three seeds out of ten, and as long as the food holds, it looks for nothing else.
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The female does the singing
In a winter flock of bullfinches it is almost always not the bright male but the female who sings — a quiet, creaking little song that none of the neighbours bother to listen to.
You might also see
Sources
- eBird — Pyrrhula pyrrhula Sightings map and full description on eBird
- Wikipedia — Eurasian bullfinch Encyclopedia article