Species guide
Common Chaffinch: how to recognise it
A bird seen on most continents. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
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Photo © Jonny Andrews · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Fringilla coelebs
- Family
- Finches, Euphonias, and Allies
- Size
- About 14–16 cm
- Habitat
- Woodland, parks and gardens
- Found in
- Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania
The key marks
The male has a blue-grey cap, a pinkish-brown face and breast, and two white wing bars. The female is duller olive-brown with the same wing bars.
Voice
A rattling song that ends in a flourish, and a ringing “pink” call.
Good to know
Young males learn their song from neighbours, so different regions have local dialects.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in woodland, parks and gardens. It is especially common in Türkiye, Greece, Spain and Norway. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.