2-12-2024 LORX, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

The Eurasian chaffinch, common chaffinch, or simply the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in colouring, but both sexes have two contrasting white wing bars and white sides to the tail. The male bird has a strong voice and sings from exposed perches to attract a mate.

The chaffinch breeds in much of Europe, across the Palearctic to Siberia. The female builds a nest with a deep cup in the fork of a tree. The clutch is typically four or five eggs, which hatch in about 13 days. The chicks fledge in around 14 days, but are fed by both adults for several weeks after leaving the nest. Outside the breeding season, chaffinches form flocks in open countryside and forage for seeds on the ground. During the breeding season, they forage on trees for invertebrates, especially caterpillars, and feed these to their young. They are partial migrants; birds breeding in warmer regions are sedentary, while those breeding in the colder northern areas of their range winter further south.

The eggs and nestlings of the chaffinch are taken by a variety of mammalian and avian predators. Its large numbers and huge range mean that chaffinches are classed as of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

8-3-2024 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

The Eurasian chaffinch, common chaffinch, or simply the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in colouring, but both sexes have two contrasting white wing bars and white sides to the tail. The male bird has a strong voice and sings from exposed perches to attract a mate.

The chaffinch breeds in much of Europe, across the Palearctic to Siberia. The female builds a nest with a deep cup in the fork of a tree. The clutch is typically four or five eggs, which hatch in about 13 days. The chicks fledge in around 14 days, but are fed by both adults for several weeks after leaving the nest. Outside the breeding season, chaffinches form flocks in open countryside and forage for seeds on the ground. During the breeding season, they forage on trees for invertebrates, especially caterpillars, and feed these to their young. They are partial migrants; birds breeding in warmer regions are sedentary, while those breeding in the colder northern areas of their range winter further south.

The eggs and nestlings of the chaffinch are taken by a variety of mammalian and avian predators. Its large numbers and huge range mean that chaffinches are classed as of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

5-12-2023 SOLLANA SOUTH, ALBUFERA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

The Eurasian chaffinch, common chaffinch, or simply the chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The male is brightly coloured with a blue-grey cap and rust-red underparts. The female is more subdued in colouring, but both sexes have two contrasting white wing bars and white sides to the tail. The male bird has a strong voice and sings from exposed perches to attract a mate.

The chaffinch breeds in much of Europe, across the Palearctic to Siberia. The female builds a nest with a deep cup in the fork of a tree. The clutch is typically four or five eggs, which hatch in about 13 days. The chicks fledge in around 14 days, but are fed by both adults for several weeks after leaving the nest. Outside the breeding season, chaffinches form flocks in open countryside and forage for seeds on the ground. During the breeding season, they forage on trees for invertebrates, especially caterpillars, and feed these to their young. They are partial migrants; birds breeding in warmer regions are sedentary, while those breeding in the colder northern areas of their range winter further south.

The eggs and nestlings of the chaffinch are taken by a variety of mammalian and avian predators. Its large numbers and huge range mean that chaffinches are classed as of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

28-3-2023 SIERRA DE ANDUJAR, ANDALUCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10070-Fringilla-coelebs

25-2-2023 GANDIA SERPIS, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10070-Fringilla-coelebs

19-2-2023 GANDIA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10070-Fringilla-coelebs

15-12-2021 ADOR CAMPO, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10070-Fringilla-coelebs

15-2-2021 JALON, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10070-Fringilla-coelebs

 

11-11-2020 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10070-Fringilla-coelebs

 

8-2-2020 GANDIA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

5-1-2020 LA LLACUNA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

19-12-2019 TURIA GARDENS, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

8-12-2019 GANDIA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

18-11-2017 HANNINGFIELD RESERVOIR, ESSEX - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

The Common chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a common and widespread small passerine bird in the finch family. The English name of this species comes from the Old English ‘ceaffinc’, where ceaf is ‘chaff’ and finc ‘finch’. Chaffinches were likely given this name because after farmers thresh their crops, these birds sometimes spend weeks picking through heaps of discarded chaff for grain.

Common chaffinches have a herbivorous and carnivorous (insectivorous) diet. Outside the breeding season, they mainly eat seeds and other plant material that they find on the ground. During the breeding season, their diet switches to invertebrates, especially defoliating caterpillars. The young are entirely fed with invertebrates which include caterpillars, aphids, earwigs, spiders, and grubs (the larvae of beetles).

The adult male Common chaffinch has a black forehead and a blue-grey crown, nape and upper mantle. The rump is a light olive-green; the lower mantle and scapulars form a brown saddle. The side of the head, throat and breast are a dull rust-red merging to pale creamy pink on the belly. The central pair of tail feathers are dark grey with a black shaft streak. The rest of the tail is black apart from the two outer feathers on each side which have white wedges. Each wing has a contrasting white panel on the coverts and a buff-white bar on the secondaries and inner primaries. The flight feathers are black with white on the basal portions of the vanes. The secondaries and inner primaries have pale yellow fringes on the outer web whereas the outer primaries have a white outer edge. After the autumn moult, the tips of the new feathers have a buff fringe that adds a brown cast to the coloured plumage. The ends of the feathers wear away over the winter so that by the spring breeding season the underlying brighter colours are displayed. The eyes have dark brown irises and the legs are grey-brown. In winter the bill is a pale grey and slightly darker along the upper ridge or culmen, but in spring the bill becomes bluish-grey with a small black tip. The adult female is much duller in appearance than the male. The head and most of the upperparts are shades of grey-brown. The underparts are paler. The lower back and rump are a dull olive green. The wings and tail are similar to those of the male. The juvenile resembles the female.

The breeding range of Common chaffinches includes northwestern Africa and most of Europe and extends eastwards across temperate Asia to the Angara River and the southern end of Lake Baikal in Siberia. There are also distinctive populations in the Azores, the Canary Islands, and the Madeira Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Common chaffinches are partial migrants; birds that breed in warmer regions are sedentary, while those breeding in the colder northern areas of their range winter further south. These birds prefer wooded areas and inhabit mixed and conifer forests and lower montane deciduous forests. They are also common in parks, gardens, orchards, agricultural areas, and hedgerows.

Common chaffinches are social birds. Outside the breeding season, they form flocks, sometimes mixed with bramblings, and forage for seeds on the ground. They feed by day, often in open country but also in trees, and also occasionally make short sallies to catch insects in the air. They seldom take food directly from plants and only very rarely use their feet for handling food. Common chaffinches communicate using various types of calls and songs. The males have a strong voice and typically sing two or three different song types, and there are regional dialects also. They sing from exposed perches to attract a mate and their song may be heard from far. The common call of these birds is a sharp 'pink-pink' sound. During the flight chaffinches often produce 'yup-yup' and when alarmed they emit a 'seee' call.

Common chaffinches are monogamous and often form long-lasting pair bonds. The time of breeding usually depends on the spring temperature and is earlier in southwest Europe and later in the northeast. A male attracts a female to his territory through song. Nests are built entirely by the female and are usually located in the fork of a bush or a tree several meters above the ground. The nest has a deep cup and is lined with a layer of thin roots and feathers. The female lays a clutch of 4-5 eggs, which are smooth and slightly glossy, but very variable in color. They range from pale-blueish green to light red with purple-brown blotches, spots, or steaks. The eggs are incubated for 10-16 days by the female. The chicks are altricial, hatching nearly naked with closed eyes, and are fed by both parents but mainly by the female, who broods them for around 6 days. The nestlings fledge 11-18 days after hatching and leave the nest; however, they are then still assisted with feeding by both parents for a further 3 weeks. The parents only very rarely start a second brood, but when they do so it is always in a new nest. Young chaffinches are able to breed when they are 1 year old.

10-2-2019 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

5-2-2019 OLIVA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

20-1-2019 ADOR CAMPO, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

19-1-2019 GANDIA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

8-1-2019 OLIVA CAMPO, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)

21-11-2018 ALBUFERA, VALENCIA - COMMON CHAFFINCH (MALE) (Fringilla coelebs)