Greenfinch

The stout bill of the Greenfinch reveals its preference for large seeds, such as rose hips and cereal grains.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Carduelis chloris
Family: 
Finches
Family Latin name: 
FRINGILLIDAE
Category: 
Birds

Species description

Species description

The trilling call of the Greenfinch, a resident breeder and winter visitor, is a lovely sound, but less frequently heard these days than in the past. The 5th Birds of Conservation Concern review, published in November 2021, (conducted by the RSPB, the BTO and various other trusts and agencies) moved the Greenfinch from the GREEN list to the RED list to reflect its population slump since 1993 following an outbreak of the infection trichomonosis in the species. The Greenfinch's stout bill reveals its preference for large seeds, such as rose hips and cereal grains.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)
The stout bill of the Greenfinch, clearly visible here, reveals its preference for large seeds, such as rose hips and cereal grains.
The trilling call of the Greenfinch is not as common as it was, but this resident breeder and Winter visitor is numerous.

Details

Species family information

Finches are among our most colourful songsters, and familiar garden birds. They are specialist seed eaters, whose bills vary in size, shape, and stoutness according to the preferred seed diet.

Category information

The earliest feathered dinosaur fossils date from the early Cretaceous, but the ancestry of birds goes further back to Jurassic theropod dinosaurs, which shared a common ancestor with the crocodilians. Well known theropod groups include the tyrannosaurs, allosaurs, and other carnivores. Of surviving bird groups, the most ancient are the ratites (ostriches, rheas, tinamous, moas, kiwis, cassowaries, and emus), followed in evolutionary order by the waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) and then the land fowl (chickens, turkeys, pheasants and their kin). Heene cemetery’s most ancient bird visitors are the woodpigeons. Strictly, therefore, we ought to refer to birds as dinosaurs, for they are direct descendants. The RSPB would be more accurately restyled as the RSPD. Where known, the conservation status of each bird is given as red, amber, or green, according to its survival potential based on 2016 populations and recent population trends.

Birds are warm-blooded, and have feathers, toothless, beaked jaws, and a strong, lightweight skeleton. They lay hard-shelled eggs. Their hearts have four chambers, and their metabolic rate is high. Although most are adapted for flight, many can also run, jump, swim and dive. Flightless birds retain vestigial wings. Brown, green, and grey are the commonest bird colours, for camouflage.

Protections

Legal protections and status
IUCN Birds of Conservation Concern: Red List
Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981