DSC0187 Bullfinch...
Bullfinch (m) - Pyrrhula Pyrrhula
Featured BBC Springwatch Social Media Nov 18 2019
The Eurasian bullfinch, common bullfinch or bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.
The bullfinch is a bulky bull-headed bird. The upper parts are grey; the flight feathers and short thick bill are black; as are the cap and face in adults (they are greyish-brown in juveniles), and the white rump and wing bars are striking in flight. The adult male has red underparts, but females and young birds have grey-buff underparts. It moults between July and October, but males do not have the duller autumn plumage that is typical of some other finches.
The song of this unobtrusive bird contains fluted whistles, and is often described as 'mournful'.
This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia. It is mainly resident, but many northern birds migrate further south in the winter. Mixed woodland with some conifers is favoured for breeding, including parkland and gardens.
For many years the Bullfinch was a red list species because the breeding population had declined by more than half owing to a reduction in quantity and quality of woodland margins and hedgerows and increased grazing by deer, but their numbers have recovered (and continue to do so) and so they have been moved to the amber list.
Population:
UK breeding:
190,000
DSC0187 Bullfinch...
Bullfinch (m) - Pyrrhula Pyrrhula
Featured BBC Springwatch Social Media Nov 18 2019
The Eurasian bullfinch, common bullfinch or bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) is a small passerine bird in the finch family, Fringillidae. In Anglophone Europe it is known simply as bullfinch, as it is the original bird to bear the name bullfinch.
The bullfinch is a bulky bull-headed bird. The upper parts are grey; the flight feathers and short thick bill are black; as are the cap and face in adults (they are greyish-brown in juveniles), and the white rump and wing bars are striking in flight. The adult male has red underparts, but females and young birds have grey-buff underparts. It moults between July and October, but males do not have the duller autumn plumage that is typical of some other finches.
The song of this unobtrusive bird contains fluted whistles, and is often described as 'mournful'.
This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia. It is mainly resident, but many northern birds migrate further south in the winter. Mixed woodland with some conifers is favoured for breeding, including parkland and gardens.
For many years the Bullfinch was a red list species because the breeding population had declined by more than half owing to a reduction in quantity and quality of woodland margins and hedgerows and increased grazing by deer, but their numbers have recovered (and continue to do so) and so they have been moved to the amber list.
Population:
UK breeding:
190,000