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Bird name:

Common Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebsOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Finches (Fringillidae)

Codes: Common Name: COCH Scientific Name: FRICOE ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179168

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Common Chaffinch: Medium finch. Buff body. Crown and nape are blue-gray; belly and vent are white. Dark wings with white shoulder patches and single white bars. Forages in trees, bushes. Eats seeds and insects. Bounding flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

Range and Habitat

Common Chaffinch: Eurasian species; widely scattered as far as north Africa, western Asia, southern Russia, and western Siberia. Accidental during migration in the Maritimes and in Massachusetts and Maine; found almost anywhere with scattered shrubs and trees, orchards, farmlands, parks, gardens, and suburbs.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"fyeet, fyeet, lya-lya-vee, chee-yew-keak"

Interesting Facts

The Common Chaffinch is the most common finch in western Europe. It is also called a Spink, from its fink or vink sounding call.

The coelebs part of its name means "bachelor". This species was named by Linnaeus; in his home country of Sweden, where the females depart in winter, but the males often remain.

The chaffinch is a popular pet bird in many countries. In Belgium, the ancient traditional sport of vinkenzetting pits male chaffinches against one another in a contest for the most bird calls in an hour.

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

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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.

Common Chaffinch

● Song: "fyeet, fyeet, lya-lya-vee, chee-yew-keak"

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Chaffinch: Eats mainly seeds and insects; forages in trees and bushes.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Chaffinch: Three to six light pink or gray eggs with red brown markings are laid in a nest made of grass, lichens, moss, rootlets, and feathers, held together by spider webs, and lined with finer materials. Incubation ranges from 10 to 18 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Common Chaffinch: None in range.

Flight Pattern

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

Common Chaffinch Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Common Chaffinch: Eurasian species; widely scattered as far as north Africa, western Asia, southern Russia, and western Siberia. Accidental during migration in the Maritimes and in Massachusetts and Maine; found almost anywhere with scattered shrubs and trees, orchards, farmlands, parks, gardens, and suburbs.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationAccidental in North America

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.8 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Nape

Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.

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.

Vent

Birds do not have two separate cavities for excrement and reproduction like humans do. In birds, there is one single entrance/exit that suits both functions called the vent, cloaca or anus.

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

Common Chaffinch

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

Related Birds

Common Chaffinch

Flight Pattern