Specie's Page                                               Garden and Hedgerow - European Chaffinch

European Chaffinch:

UK Status: Resident and native.

Habitat: This was a bird of mainly woodland, but has adapted well to mankind. Now they can be found almost anywhere, including parks, gardens, woodland and farmland. the male and female are sexually dimorphic, the male with it's bright pink breast being much more noticeable than the more drab looking female.

Breeding: Nests are deep cups made of dried grass. or straw with a finer softer lining of hair feathers, wool, or other scavenged materials. they are placed low in hedgerows, thick, bushes or trees, just a few feet off the ground. Thorny hedgerows are well favoured, but the also nest in gardens, parks and woodland. They lay four to five off white to buff coloured eggs, with reddish brown speckling, blotches or streaks.

Comment: This lovely little bird is common in places, and well distributed throughout the British Isles. It is only absent from a few higher mountainous areas, and a few offshore islands.