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European Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) — photo 1 of 3
© Martin Kunz CC BY 4.0

Finches · Perching birds

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

Year-round

Voice

Song

Kevin Ortega

2:00

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:18

Call

steve

0:13

How to recognize it

  • House-sparrow size, compact body, short notched tail

  • Olive-brown overall with yellow on the wing and rump

  • Thick conical bill

  • Fast, arcing flight; song of trills and twittering with a buzzing ‘jzzzz’ note

About the species

The European Greenfinch has a compact, sturdy look and fits well into everyday park and garden watching. It is usually noticed less for drama than for its olive-brown tones and the clear yellow on the wing.

It often stays up in trees and shrubs, but it also feeds on the ground. Its song is a slow mix of trills and twittering, and in spring males add display flights, rising into the air and dropping back to a perch.

In summer it takes insects, then shifts to berries, buds, and seeds. It is mainly resident, while northern populations move south for the winter.

Did you know?

  • Out-sings the songs it steals

    The greenfinch has a rare gift among finches for mimicry: snatches of tit, goldfinch and sparrow songs come out of its beak louder and clearer than from the originals.

  • One cropful feeds them all

    Greenfinch parents come to the nest only a couple of times an hour, but one cropful of seeds is enough to feed the entire brood in a single visit.

  • Building nest two before fledging

    A female greenfinch often starts building the next nest before the chicks of the first brood have even left the previous one.

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Sources