OTHER NAMES: Mountain Linnet
Latin Etymology: Linaria ("linen weaver") flavirostris ("yellow billed")
Three Twite (possibly subspecies L. f. pipilans) at Onager Hill, Norfolk - March 2023
Featured Subspecies: possibly Linaria flavirostris pipilans
Weight: 13-18g / Length: 13-1cm / Wingspan: 22-24cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern
A small finch of cold uplands, the twite is arguably the drabbest of the native finches of the UK, with only the often obscured pink rump of the breeding males as colouration on its otherwise brown plumage. Their global range is separated into two broad areas a highly migratory population in Northern Europe and resident birds of Central Asia and the Caucasus. The UK breeding population is in major decline, though it is supplemented by migratory continental birds in Winter. Their distinctive yellow bill is only present in Winter.
Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Linaria
SUBSPECIES: L. f. bensonorum, L. f. pipilans, L. f. flavirostris, L. f. brevirostris, L. f. kirghizorum, L. f. korejevi, L. f. altaica, L. f. montanella, L. f. pamirensis, L. f. miiakensis, L. f. rufostrigata
- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - A scarce breeder in Northern uplands (7850 pairs), Winters in saltmarshes (100,000 birds)
- A flock at Onager Hill in March 2023,
Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto
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