Length: 14-16cm
Wingspan: 24.5-27.5cm
Conservation Status: Green
Description: The greenfinch is a little stouter than other finches and has a chunky pink bill. Male greenfinches are greenish all over with various subtle tinges of colour and have a defined wing bar of brilliant yellow and in flight you’ll see the yellow on the base and sides of the tail. The female greenfinch has subtler colouring with less yellow on the wing and a brownish hue to the upper parts. In autumn both sexes become less brightly coloured. Juvenile greenfinches are browner and have a mottled pattern on the back and sides.
Nesting: Greenfinches are common in woodlands, farmlands, orchards, villages and gardens where there are trees, and they have also learned to live close to humans particularly where food can be found. Greenfinches nest in small colonies in trees and bushes building large nests of twigs, moss, roots, stems and plant wool. They produce 2 or 3 broods a year consisting of 4-6 whitish eggs with brown and black speckling which they incubate for 12-15 days.
Feeding: Greenfinches will eat various seeds, flower buds, niger seed, insects and nuts. They use their powerful bills to break open seeds which they feed on throughout the year. In winter when food is scarce greenfinches rely on bird tables, and the discovery of seeds at a bird table can incite a feeding frenzy and a blur of yellow and green feathers as they compete for food. Greenfinches will threaten other birds fiercely and often chase them away from bird feeders with their wings raised, tail fanned and bill wide open. Their yellow markings reinforce the visual threat helping to scare other species away.
Information and image from Garden Bird Supplies
If you want to attract greenfinches to your garden then you may be interested in the following products:
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