Best time to see: all year

Key facts

One of our commonest finches, found almost anywhere

Habitat: anywhere with trees or bushes, preferably broad-leaved woodland

Widespread and common resident

Recognition

Reddish with blue cap, bold white double wing bar and white outer tail feathers; female duller than male; 15–16 cm

Perches openly, both in vegetation and on the ground, feeding on seeds, beech-mast and sometimes grain

When breeding, for long periods repeats its delicate song ending with a flourish Play Play

Lifecycle

Nest is a neat cup of moss and lichen lined with hair and feathers, low in vegetation

1 or 2 broods of 4–5 off-white eggs, marked red, April to June

Forms large flocks with other seedeaters in winter