Birds · Passeriformes · Fringillidae

Common Linnet

Linaria cannabina

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

A small finch with unobtrusive plumage and a white outer pair of tail feathers. The male takes on reddish tones on the forehead and breast in the breeding season. Females and young are much duller and are easily confused with pipits and buntings.

Weight

19 g on average

Size

13 cm on average

Diet

Herbivore

Feeds mainly on plants.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Estimated population

Between 35.8 and 64.4 million mature individuals in Europe, with an increasing trend. In Spain, around 10 million birds, two thirds of them across the two Castiles, Aragon and Andalusia

GrasslandHerbivore Diurnal Bird Grassland

45countries 261parks13same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt was one of the most popular cage birds in Europe for its varied song.
Its epithet cannabina refers to hemp, on whose seeds it feeds.
It is told apart from the pipits by a detail of behaviour: linnets, like all finches, hop when moving along the ground, whereas pipits walk.
Outside the breeding season it moves in large mixed flocks with serins, goldfinches, greenfinches and siskins.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Low scrub, vineyards, waste ground and open fields
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Litter / clutch size: 4-7 eggs, in a nest built in a tussock

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; SEO/BirdLife (III Atlas: Romay Cousido y Justo Álvarez 2022; programa Sacre); IEPNB (EIDOS); Waste Magazine; Cramp y Perrins 1994; Borrás y Senar en Martí y Del Moral 2003; Linnaeus 1758