Brambling

Fringilla montifringillaOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Finches (Fringillidae)

Codes: Common Name: BRAM Scientific Name: FRIMON ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179167

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Overview

Brambling: Medium-sized finch with jet-black hood extending to upper back with orange shoulder patches, throat, and breast. Underparts are buff with black-spotted flanks. Wings are black with white and orange bars. Bounding flight, rapid wing beats alternating with wings at sides.

Range and Habitat

Brambling: A Eurasian species, common but irregular as a migrant in the Bering Sea region, including the Aleutians; casual in fall and winter in southern Alaska; accidental south to Canada and northwestern U.S. states. Preferred habitats include northern forests with birch trees during breeding season; prefers agricultural fields, woodlands (especially beech), parks, and gardens during winter.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"dzhweeeee", "check-check-check", "tweerk"

Interesting Facts

Bramblings are well-known for the unpredictability of their migrations; birds wintering in Great Britain have been recovered in Italy the next.

This irregularity may be associated with the dependence of brambling flocks on the seeds of a few trees, especially beech, that tend to be produced plentifully in alternate years in different localities.

Unlike most finches, their young are fed extensively on insects.

A group of finches has many collective nouns, including a "charm", "company", and "trembling" of finches.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Samira Belous

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Brambling

● Song: "dzhweeeee", "check-check-check", "tweerk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brambling: Eats seeds and insects in summer; seeds in winter; forages in trees, bushes, and on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Brambling: Five to seven pale blue eggs with pink and red markings are laid in a nest made of grass, hair, birch bark, and moss, held together with spider webs, and lined with hair, wool, down, and feathers. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Brambling: Common Chaffinch lacks white rump, orange tints, and flecked flanks.

Flight Pattern

Somewhat bounding flight with rapid wing beats alternating with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.

Brambling Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Brambling: A Eurasian species, common but irregular as a migrant in the Bering Sea region, including the Aleutians; casual in fall and winter in southern Alaska; accidental south to Canada and northwestern U.S. states. Preferred habitats include northern forests with birch trees during breeding season; prefers agricultural fields, woodlands (especially beech), parks, and gardens during winter.

^BreedingMonogamous, Pairs

^PopulationRare to casual

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.8 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Brambling

Related Birds

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Range and Habitat

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Interesting Facts

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Artist

Brambling

Flight Pattern