Tartan Back
Tartan Back is an old Scottish folk name for Brambling and I thought that this view, in this plumage is probably the most tartan-like. Brambling seems like an odd name as it is not associated with brambles. The name has been around for more than 500 years and is almost certainly a corruption of Brandling, meaning brindled, which is a better description of the bird's plumage during winter than tartan. It's scientific name Fringilla montifringilla translates as Finch/Mountain Finch, which again is not especially apt as I have seen them breeding abundantly on the lowland forested bogs of Finland. We don't really know how many Bramblings overwinter in Britain but we do know that numbers fluctuate widely from year to year depending on breeding success. When they arrive in Britain they rapidly move to Beechwoods as they are highly dependent on beech mast. In good Brambling years huge flocks can build up where there are lots of beech masts, but ringing has shown there is little site faithfulness between years. Which explains why some years I see lots of Bramblings locally, but other winters (like this one) I see very few. This is a male, by the way, identified by his black head, face and back. After their autumn moult the black feathers have pale tips but these usually wear off by spring leaving them looking dapper and black.
Tartan Back
Tartan Back is an old Scottish folk name for Brambling and I thought that this view, in this plumage is probably the most tartan-like. Brambling seems like an odd name as it is not associated with brambles. The name has been around for more than 500 years and is almost certainly a corruption of Brandling, meaning brindled, which is a better description of the bird's plumage during winter than tartan. It's scientific name Fringilla montifringilla translates as Finch/Mountain Finch, which again is not especially apt as I have seen them breeding abundantly on the lowland forested bogs of Finland. We don't really know how many Bramblings overwinter in Britain but we do know that numbers fluctuate widely from year to year depending on breeding success. When they arrive in Britain they rapidly move to Beechwoods as they are highly dependent on beech mast. In good Brambling years huge flocks can build up where there are lots of beech masts, but ringing has shown there is little site faithfulness between years. Which explains why some years I see lots of Bramblings locally, but other winters (like this one) I see very few. This is a male, by the way, identified by his black head, face and back. After their autumn moult the black feathers have pale tips but these usually wear off by spring leaving them looking dapper and black.