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Eurasian Linnet (Linaria cannabina) — photo 1 of 5
© Zambog CC BY-SA 3.0

Finches · Perching birds

Eurasian Linnet

Linaria cannabina

Year-round

Voice

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:26

Song

Jochem verweij

0:56

Alarm

Jochem verweij

0:10

How to recognize it

  • Small, slim finch with a long tail

  • Brown upperparts; whitish underparts, pale flanks

  • Spring male: crimson forehead, crown, and breast

  • Song: mixed trills, twitters, whistles, and crackles

About the species

The Eurasian Linnet is a small, slim finch with a neat, light build. In spring the male becomes much more eye-catching, with a bright red head and breast, while the rest of the look stays plain and tidy.

It is easier to notice by its voice than by its appearance. The male sings from bushes, trees, wires, and fences, and sometimes rises into the air, circles a few times, and drops back to his perch; several may sing close by at once.

It lives in gardens, hedges, scrubby patches near meadows and woodland edges, especially where seed plants are common. It arrives early in spring and leaves in autumn, usually in late September or October, while in the south of its range it may stay or wander locally.

Did you know?

  • Twice an hour

    In Denmark, male linnets stay within ten metres of their females before egg-laying and mate with them about twice an hour; genetics shows only around 4% of chicks come from another father.

  • Sits tight till you part the branches

    You can photograph a linnet hen openly from a tripod as she sits on her eggs — she clings to the nest to the last, slipping off only when you push the branches above her aside.

  • Sixty seed species on the menu

    The linnet feeds on the seeds of more than sixty plant species — out of seventy-two food items it takes overall — mostly from the daisy and cabbage families.

Where to find

  • In mature city parks with thick shrubs — the male often sings from the top of a bush or from a wire, turning from side to side.

  • Along canal banks, pond edges, and overgrown slopes — look for low perches near reeds and hedges.

  • On vacant lots, road verges, and weedy lawn edges — watch for small flocks feeding on the ground, picking seeds from docks and thistles.

  • By fences and overhead wires — in March and April, the song starts early and carries from exposed perches.

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Sources