American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Spinus (bird mentioned by Aristophanes) tristis ("sad")

Adult male American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) at Writing-on-Stone NP, Alberta, Canada -July 2024

Featured Subspecies: Spinus tristis tristis
Weight: 11-20g  /  Length: 11-14cm  /  Wingspan: 19-22cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Despite the name, not a close relation of the European Goldfinch, but rather a more common relative of the Siskins. A widespread and common bird that has benefitted from human presence - as forests have been cleared grasslands have filled the gaps, a habitat it is much more able to adjust to. The male is very striking, being the only common bright yellow bird in much of it's range.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Spinus
SUBSPECIES: S. t. tristis, S. t. pallidus, S. t. jewetti, S. t. salicamans

 - Sighting Locations -

CANADA -Breeds in the Sourthern parts of Canada.
  - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: - Seen at Writing-on-Stone NP

UNITED STATES - Found over the entire Lower 48 at different times of the year, migrating South.
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: Fairly common throughout

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Twite (Linaria flavirostris)

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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House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)

OTHER NAMES: Hollywood Finch
Latin Etymology: Haemorhous ("blood rump") mexicanus ("of Mexico")

Adult male House Finch (subspecies H. m. frontalis) at San Jose, California - August 2022

Featured Subspecies: Haemorhous mexicanus frontalis
Weight: 16-27 g  /  Length: 12.5-15cm  /  Wingspan: 20-25cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Probably the most abundant and common bird seen on my trip to the Bay, the House Finch is a small brown finch where the males have a coral coloured flush to them. They have experienced a rapid range expansion since the 40's - they were sold as "Hollywood Finches" in New York at that time, and subsequently escaped and formed a feram population which has now linked up across the entire Lower 48 and into Southern Canada.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Haemorhous
SUBSPECIES: H. m. frontalis, H. m. clementis, H. m. amplus, H. m. rubbrrimus, H.m rhodopnus, H. m. coccineus, H. m. potosinus, H. m. centralis, H. m. mexicanus, H. m. rosepectus, H. m. griscomi, H. m. mcgregori

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Found across the entire Lower 48 and Hawai'i
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose etc

 Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)

OTHER NAMES: Dark-backed Goldfinch, Arkansas Goldfinch
Latin Etymology: Spinus (bird mentioned by Aristophanes) psaltria ("singer")  

Adult male Lesser Goldfinch (subspecies S. p. hesperophilus) at Berkeley, California - Septmeber 2022

Featured Subspecies: Spinus psaltria hesperophilus
Weight: 8-11.5g  /  Length: 9-12cm  /  Wingspan: 20cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The three species of American Goldfinch aren't actually closesly related to the Eurasian Goldfinch, actually being more closely related to the siskins. It is one of the smallest true finches in the world, only rivalled by it's close relation the Andean Siskin. They travel in flocks, the largest of which we encountered was probably around 50 birds.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Spinus
SUBSPECIES: S. p. hesperophilus, S. p. witti, S. p. psaltria, S. p. jouyi, S. p. colombianus

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES 
Resident on West Coast and the Mexican border, Breeding inland in South-West
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP:  Seen at Berkeley and  San Francisco 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Parrot Crossbill (Loxia pytyopsittacus)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Loxia ("crosswise") pytyopsittacus ("pine parrot")

Adult Male Parrot Crossbill at Wishmoor Bottom, Surrey - December 2017

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 53g  /  Length: 16-18cm  /  Wingspan: 27-31cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Parrot Crossbill is a bird which very much gets it's name from it's beak: the crossbills as a group of species are all conifer specialists with unique crossed mandibles that they use to pry open seeds from cones.  Out of the three species found in the UK, the Parrot Crossbill is generally considered to be the largest and rarest - only a small relic population remains in the Highlands of Scotland, though they remain more common elsewhere.  They do however on occasion, as in this case, irrupt from elsewhere when there is a shortage of food allowing me a much easier job of seeing them then looking in Scotland and trying to separate out the other two, very very similar species.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Loxia
SUBSPECIES: none - monotypic 

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A small relic population in Scotland (65 pairs) and rare irruptive vagrant

 - An irruptive vagrant flock seen at Wishmoor Bottom in December 2017

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

European Serin (Serinus serinus)

OTHER NAMES: Serin

Latin Etymology: Serinus ("serin/canary") serinus ("serin/canary")

                                           Adult male European Serin (Serinus serinus) at El Retiro, Madrid, Spain - June 2015

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 8.5-14g  /  Length: 11-12cm  /  Wingspan: 20-23cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The vibrant colours might give it away, but this species is a close relation of the Canary.  It is found widely throughout almost all of Europe, although it is largely absent from Scandinavia and the British Isles, favouring more of a Mediterranean habitat.  In Spain it is fairly common resident found in a variety of habitats up to and including inner-city parks.  I saw a good number across the holiday, but how readily I could get views of them depended very much on where they were - urban birds being less shy than rural.  Prior to seeing them in Spain, I did look for this species in the UK as it is a rare breeding species and vagrant, but failed to locate them each time.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Serinus
Subspecies: None - monotypic

 - Sighting Locations -

ITALY - Italian - Verzellino

A resident

 - SICILY 2018 TRIP -  A few at Aci Castello.

SPAIN - Spanish - Verdecillo ("Greenish")

Common to locally abundant resident

 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: Common at various locations including El Retiro and Patones
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Fairly common throughout, particularly noted at El Pardo

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Hawfinch (Coccothraustes coccothraustes)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Coccothraustes ("seed break") coccothraustes ("seed break")

Two adult Hawfinch (subspecies C. c. coccthraustes) at El Parod, Spain - April 2016

Featured Subspecies: Coccothraustes coccothraustes coccothraustes
Weight: 46-70g  /  Length: 18cm  /  Wingspan: 29-33cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Hawfinches are simultaniously by far the biggest finch, and, strangely, the hardest to locate of all the species in the UK.  Theoretically, they are very widespread, but they are very secretive and generally will hide from humans long before you know they are there.   They are more easily seen in the Winter when leaves are off the trees, but even then it's probably easiest to go see one that has been reported as being around for a while like my first bird at Rutland Water.  On the Continent they are far more common, and I came across this pair along the river at El Pardo entirely by coincidence - something that in the UK would be a massive highlight of the day.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Coccothraustes
Subspecies: C. c. coccothraustes, C. c. buvryri, C. c. nigricans, C. c. hummii, C. c. schulpini, C. c. japonicus

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Scarce breeding species (500-1000 pairs) and Wintering species (10-15,000 birds)

 - A single bird at Rutland Water in December 2012, 

SPAIN -  Spanish - Picogordo ("Fat beak")

Locally fairly common resident

 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Two seen at El Pardo

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus)

OTHER NAMES: Siskin, Black-headed Goldfinch, Barleybird, Aberdevine

Latin Etymology: Spinus (bird mentioned by Aristophanes) spinus (bird mentioned by Aristophanes)

Adult Eurasian Siskin (Spinus spinus) at Geddington, Northants - March 2013

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 12-18g  /  Length: 11-12.5cm  /  Wingspan: 20-23cm
UK GREEN LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

For me the siskin proved to be a bit of a bogey bird for a while since I started this blog. In theory there are half as many siskins as the very common (but suffering major declines) greenfinch, plus winter migrants. In practice, despite having them on my bird table on a daily basis the winter before I started this site, I had not seen hide nor hair of one until for a year and a half after I started this blog.  Subsequently, connecting with them has become a bit easier as I've got more use to the sorts of places to look for them. As they do feed in gardens fairly readily, this is ultimately probably the place to get the best views of them, as with many finches they seem to favour niger seed for me.  In Winter they tend to travel in flocks and are most often seen in the treetops feeding on seeds - sometime accompanied by goldfinch or redpoll, most visibly in February and early March.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Spinus
Subspecies: none - monotypic

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Locally abundant breeding resident (369,000 pairs) and widely distributed Winter migrant.

 - Seen in Geddington most Winters, although in very variable numbers.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Redpoll (Acanthis flammea)

OTHER NAMES: Redpoll

Latin Etymology: Acanthis (Greek name for a small unidentied bird) flammea ("fiery")

Adult male Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) at Geddington, Northants - March 2013

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 9-12g  /  Length: 11.5-12.5cm  /  Wingspan: 20-22.5cm

UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Theoretically at least, this is a widespread finch present for most of the year in most of the country (or at least in Winter in a certain central section). On the flip-side of that however is that it's got a comparatively small population, and thus presumably, a rather patchy distribution. Winter is probably the best time to see it as without the leaves on the trees it'll be much more visible.  While for a while it was regarded as three separate species, more recent genetic evidence points to their being negligible genetic differences between populations.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Acanthis

Subspecies: none - monotypic

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - A widely distributed breeding resident (220,000 pairs) which disperses in Winter to be found in wider habitat.

 - Seen some Winters in Geddington. Also seen at Rutland Water and Fineshade Woods. .

Further Information: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

OTHER NAMES: Bullfinch, Bud-bird
Latin Etymology: Pyrrhula (bird mentioned by Aristotle) pyrrhula (bird mentioned by Aristotle)

 Adult male Eurasian Bullfinch (subspecies P. p. pileata) in Summer Leys, Northants - April 2022

Featured Subspecies: Pyrrhula pyrrhula pileata
Weight: 24g  /  Length: 16cm  /  Wingspan: 26cm

UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Bullfinch is the largest of the more common finches, and the male in particular is quite a striking bird with a red breast and black cap. The female is duller, with a greyish brown replacing the bright red. They are relatively common and widespread, but not as numerous as goldfinch, greenfinch or chaffinch. Look out for them in small flocks, particularly in winter where its easier to see hedgerow birds - they tend to me more of a rural species than most of the other commoner ones.

Related Species: 
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Pyrrhula
Subspecies: P. p. pileata, P. p. europoea, P. p. iberiae, P. p. pyrrhula, P. p. rossikowi, P. p.caspica, P. p. cineracea, P. p. sassinii, P. p. griseiventris, P. p. rosacea

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Fairly common breeding resident (220,000 territories)

 - Seen at sites including Rutland Water, Pitsford Reservoir and Geddington.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

OTHER NAMES: N/A

Latin Etymology: Fringilla ("finch") coelebs ("unmarried")

Top Left: Adult Male Chaffinch (subspecies F. c. gengleri) at Geddington, Northants - August 2013

Top Right: Adult Male Chaffinch (subspecies F. c. balearica) at Monfrague National Park, Spain - April 2016

Bottom: Adult Female Chaffinch (subspecies F. c. gengleri) at Geddington, Northants - September 2013

Featured Subspecies: Fringilla coelebs gengleri and Fringilla coelebs balearica

Weight: 18-29g  /  Length: 14.5cm  /  Wingspan: 24.5-28.5cm

UK GREEN LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

By far the most common member of the finch family in the UK, The Chaffinch is very widely spread and very easily seen both in urban and rural settings. It is a very common bird-table species and comes readily to feeders. In some cafes I've been to it is bold enough to come and take crumbs off of plates when you sit outside. It can also sometimes be found in reasonably large flocks on fields, particularly during the Winter when it may associate with other seed eating birds.  In Spain it is less common than in the UK, but seemingly still widely spread.

Related Species: 
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Fringilla
Subspecies: F. c. coelebs, F. c. gengleri, F. c. balearica, F. c. sarda, F. c. schiebeli, F. c. syriaca, F. c. solomkoi, F. c. alexandrovi, F. c. transcaspica, F. c. africana, F. c. spodiogenys, F. c. moreletti, F. c. maderensis, F. c. canariensis, F. c. ombriosa, F. c. palmae     

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Abundant breeding species (6,200,000 territories)

 - Birds seen at many locations regularly, including but not limited to Geddington, Rutland Water, Pitsford Reservoir, Rainham Marshes, Regent's Park and Padstow. In Winter often particularly abundant with large flocks of hundreds on farmland.

SPAIN - Spanish - Pinzón Vulgar ("Common Finch")

 Breeding resident.  

 - SEVILLE 2011 TRIP: Seen at El Rocio (feeding with sparrows)      

 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen at Monfrague National Park (one singing male)      

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto .

Eurasian Linnet (Linaria cannabina)

OTHER NAMES: Linnet
Latin Etymology: Linaria ("linen weaver") cannabina ("made of hemp")

Adult Eurasian Linnet (subspecies C. c. cannabina) - male at St. Bee's Head - April 2011 / female at Trevose Head - June 2010

Featured Subspecies: Carduelis cannabina cannabina 

Weight: 15-26g / Length: 13.5cm / Wingspan: 21-25cm

UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Linnets are a slightly odd species in terms of distribution - they are certainly widely distributed, but the density seems to vary wildly, even from year to year. They are found in Geddington but are quite unusual, whereas at Rainham and Trevose Head they seem one of the most numerous birds. Photographing them of course depends on how brave the local population is.

Related Species:

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Linaria
Subspecies: C. c. autochthona, C. c. nana, C. c. meadewaldoi, C. c. harterti, C. c. mediterranea, C. c. cannabina, C. c. bella

- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - Common resident (430.000 pairs) 

 - A fairly local bird seen at sites including Trevose Head, Rainham Marshes, Elmley Marshes, St. Bee's Head and Geddington.     

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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