One of the 4 finches on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Fringillidae
Common Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
Its scientific name, coelebs — 'bachelor' — was coined by Linnaeus, who noticed that flocks of males and females separated in winter.
Weight
up to 21 g
Size
14.5 cm on average
Lifespan
3 years
Diet
Omnivore
Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- It is famous for its 'rain call', a series of repeated notes often given before rain.
- It has marked regional song dialects, learned culturally from neighbouring adults.
- It eats insects and caterpillars in summer, and seeds, grain and berries the rest of the year.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Woodland, farmland, parks and gardens across much of Europe, North Africa and western Asia
- Birth weight
- Tiny, blind and featherless at hatching
- Size at birth
- Tiny at hatching
- Sexual maturity
- 1 year
- Gestation / incubation
- 10-16 days (usual reference 12-14 days)
- Litter / clutch size
- 4 to 5 eggs per clutch
- Lifespan in captivity
- Documented record of up to 29 years in captivity
Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Birdfact; Garden Wildlife Direct; Animalia.bio; Binocular Base; Songbird Survival; Wikipedia (Common chaffinch); Birds of the World; bioRxiv (genome assembly study)
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round; in winter flocks arrive from northern Europe and it gathers in numbers in woods, fields and at feeders.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 265 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Common Chaffinch — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Eurasian Bullfinch
Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Not EvaluatedBlue Chaffinch
Fringilla teydea
Atlantic Canary
Serinus canaria
Common Linnet
Linaria cannabina
Eurasian Siskin
Spinus spinus
Scottish Crossbill
Loxia scotica
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about common chaffinch.
Comments
Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the common chaffinch.
Be the first to comment.