CHAFFINCH

The Latin name for the chaffinch is Fringilla coelebs.

The chaffinch is the European songbird and is the most common finch in western Europe.

They are a small to medium bird with a body length of 14-16cm. The male has a slate-blue crown and nape, chestnut back, greenish rump and pink to rust face and breast. Its shoulders have white wing bars and in flight the white outer tail feathers show. The female is light olive-brown above, paler below. 

Chaffinches' nest in woods, hedges or gardens. They lay 4 to 5 eggs between April and May, these are light brown with a few smudgy spots and streaks of dark brown. 

Chaffinches do a lot of damage to fruit trees in the spring by eating the flower buds. Many migrate to southern or western Europe during the winter.

Young male chaffinches learn the song of adults near them. They have an attractive descending song and a distinctive 'pink-pink' call note.