Which are the commonest finches for wildlife gardens?

Finches are ‘passerines’, meaning song or perching birds. Characteristically, they are small to medium in size, have short, stubby beaks and 12 tail feathers, build enclosed, basketshaped nests, and sing well. Finches are common and widespread right across Europe and the USA. In the UK, the ones you are most likely to encounter in your wildlife garden are chaffinches, bullfinches, goldfinches and greenfinches, but if you live in a rural area you may see more.

Carduelis carduelis (Goldfinch)

Size – 10–13 cm (4–5 in) long.
Appearance – The sexes are broadly similar with blue-black on the head, a red and white face, yellow bars across the wings, and brown-grey on the underparts.
Habitat – Just about everywhere from woodland, overgrown gardens and hedges to farmland, orchards and parks.
Food – Seeds, grain, nuts, fruit and young buds; will also eat kitchen scraps, but is not keen on nuts.
Nesting – Builds a cup-shaped nest from twigs, stems, moss, lichen,
feathers and other soft materials, usually in the lower branches of a small tree or in bushes.
Comments – Its distinctive, bright red face makes it easy to recognize. The related species Carduelis tristis (American Goldfinch) is a familar garden visitor in the USA.
Characteristic cup-shaped nest Adult – note the broad yellow bars on the wings when in flight

Fringilla coelebs (Chaffinch)

Size – 13–15 cm (5–6 in) long.
Appearance – Has a blue-grey head with pink-brown on the shoulders, white bars on the wings, and pink-brown underparts. The female has much the same markings as the male, but the colours look more washed out.
Habitat – Farmland, hedges, orchards, open spreads of trees and overgrown gardens.
Food – Seeds, grains and nuts; will also eat kitchen scraps.
Nesting – Nests in trees and bushes in scrubland, in overgrown gardens, and on the edges of woodland – builds a cup-shaped nest using a carefully woven mix of grass, bark, hair, feathers and wool. A healthy female lays two clutches of eggs between spring and summer. From one bird to another, the eggs vary in colour from red-brown through grey-blue to grey-red.
Comments – Research suggests that in a good year there will be 6–7 million pairs in the UK. The chaffinch has a characteristic, low-slung, potbellied shape that makes it relatively easy to recognize.

Pyrrhula pyrrhulaBullfinch (UK) Eurasian Bullfinch (USA)

Size – 13–17 cm (5–6½ in) long.
Appearance – Has a blue-black head, a white bar on blue-black wings, and red neck and underparts. The female is a paler pink version of the male.
Habitat – Although it is widespread in parks, gardens, farmland, edges of woods and orchards, it seems to have a preference for conifers and dense undergrowth on the edge of clearings.
Food – Seeds, fruit, berries and young buds.
Nesting – Generally builds a cup-shaped nest in lower branches close to the trunk high up, but they sometimes settle for building a flat, almost platelike, mess of a nest. The nest is made from a mix of twigs, moss, leaves, hair and down.
Comments – Bullfinches can be a real problem in orchards and fruit farms, and just about anywhere where there are delicate buds. If you are troubled by bullfinches eating your orchard buds, then a good solution is to ring the orchard with crab apple trees.

OTHER FINCHES

• Carduelis cannabina (Linnet) – Has a red patch on the forehead, red breast and a chestnut-brown body, with white edges to the wings; it favours open farmland where there are hedges and dense scrubland with gorse and bramble.
• Carduelis flammea (Redpoll) – Has a red forehead, pink-brown back and pink breast; it favours woodland, conifers and densely planted gardens.
• Carduelis flavirostris (Twite) – Is streaky pink-brown, with a bright patch of pink down the upper back, and has a bright yellow bill in the summer; it favours open ground, coastal areas and moorland. • Carduelis chloris (Greenfinch) – Is yellow-green in colour with a pink bill; it favours woodland, dense bushes and gardens.
• Carduelis spinus (Siskin) – Has a black crown with distinctive bright yellow-green body and wings, with yellow bars on the wings; it favours conifer forests.
• Coccothraustes coccothraustes (Hawfinch) – Has a light nut-brown body with white bars on the wings, and a large head with a large strong bill; it favours sheltered woodland and orchards. Carduelis psaltria (Lesser Goldfinch) is native to the Southwest of the USA. Here a male is perched so as to take best advantage of the early morning sun.