Garden Bird of the Month

What to look out for this month

The Greenfinch is an active bird and is widespread throughout Northern Europe but is a familiar garden resident in the UK.

It is often seen dominating the bird feeders and trying to exclude smaller species. One would be excused for nicknaming them the garden bully but there is more to this bird than meets the eye!

The Male Greenfinch is easily identified as he is generally green all over, with areas of yellow alongside the wing and at the base of its short, deeply forked tail: there are areas of dull grey on its face, neck and wings. The female is a much drabber version with the head, upper parts and most of the wings being a dull brownish-green. Both sexes have beady black eyes, together with a fleshy-pink large conical beak and legs.

They can often be seen sitting in small parties on tree tops and bushes, singing aloud for everyone to hear. A singing male Greenfinch will lay on a fairly impressive display with which to attract a mate.

From a distance, a Greenfinch's song flight displays a similar pattern to that of the swallow. They travel in a wide circle or a figure of eight, extending their wings more fully than in normal flight.