Description
The Chaffinch is our commonest finch and has striking double white wing bars. The wing bars are formed by white patches on the wing coverts, and primary and secondary wing feathers. Its summer plumage is brighter that its winter plumage.
The male Chaffinch has a pink breast and cheeks, blue-grey crown and nape, and chestnut brown back.
The female has an olive-brown back, and grey-brown under parts becoming almost white towards the rump, which is greenish. The juveniles are similar to the female but lack the greenish rump.

The Brambling is similar but has white rump and all-black tail, the Chaffinch has white outer tail feathers in both sexes. They often form mixed flocks in the winter; the Brambling's white rump and Chaffinch's white wing bars are diagnostic features.

Voice
The Chaffinch is well known for its "rain" call which is a repetitive short trill, and a loud "pink pink" call.
The song can be remembered by the phrase: "chip chip chip chooee chooee cheeoo".

Feeding
Chaffinches usually feed on seeds and insects, like caterpillars, during the breeding season.
In the garden, they tend to forage on the ground for spilt seed (sunflower seeds and hearts) from the hanging feeders.

Breeding
The Chaffinches build a neat cup nest from moss, grass, and feathers bound with spiders' webs, lined with feathers and wool, and decorated with lichen and flakes of bark. The nest is usually in a fork of a tree or shrub.
The eggs of the Chaffinch are about 20 mm by 15 mm in size, and are smooth, glossy, and light blue with purple-brown blotches. The duties of incubating the eggs are performed by the female. The newly-hatched young are fed by both adults.

Comments
Like the Bullfinch, the Chaffinch used to be a common visitor in the winter, but in recent years the numbers have dwindled and now we hardly ever see them.

Reproduced with kind permission of

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Last modified: Tuesday April 15, 2008