male	male male in flight female European distribution

Identification

The bright red underparts of a male Bullfinch can provide a rare splash of colour on a grey winter's day but their habit of destroying fruit-tree buds means they are not universally popular. Bullfinches are big, fat finches which can be most easily identified by their neat, jet black caps or their obvious square white rumps, as if the base of the tail has been wrapped in white bandage. Females are browner than males, lacking the red front and grey back. Juveniles lack the black cap but can still be told by their fat, bull-necked appearance and short but very deep black bill, as well as the conclusive white rump.

Habitat

Breeds and winters in orchards, parks, woodlands and scrub.

Behaviour

Bullfinches hardly ever sing. Or at least, they hardly ever sing in Britain and yet on a recent trip to Finland I heard at least five singing Bullfinches, more than in a lifetime in this country.

Migration

Birds in south and west Europe are sedentary, rarely moving more than a few kilometres from their breeding sites. Birds are partly nomadic, staying for long periods if they find a good food source, but then moving, perhaps for several kilometres, to find another good supply. Birds from further north are migratory; some Scandinavia birds occur in autumn on the east coast of Britain.

This information is taken from the BirdFile on the appropriate BirdGuides DVD-ROM. As well as video and sounds, our CD- and DVD-ROMs contain additional text on Voice, Sexing, Ageing, Food, Nests and Eggs and more.

For the purposes of our bird news services, Bullfinch is classed as Common: common species, including species that are certain or probable escapees from captivity when occurring in the British Isles. (Note that rarity levels are currently applied nationally and may not reflect local variations in abundance.)

Summer Leys, Northants 01/02/2010	Kendal, Cumbria 08/02/2010	Summer Leys, Northants 06/02/2010	Summer Leys, Northants 06/02/2010	Upton Warren, Worcs 31/01/2010
Elemore Woods, Durham 07/01/2010	Castle Loch NR, Dumf & Gall 01/02/2010	Castle Loch NR, Dumf & Gall 01/02/2010	Fressingfield, Suffolk 01/02/2010	Troutsdale, N Yorks 31/01/2010

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Bullfinch breeds in the following countries (Bird News Extra subscribers will see population statistics and information on trends for each country):

Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Britain
Bulgaria
Croatia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia and Montenegro
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine

http://www.avibirds.com/euhtml/Bullfinch.html   Avibirds: Bullfinch	Edit this link
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http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob17100.htm   BTO BirdFacts: Bullfinch	Edit this link
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	RSPB: Broady the Bullfinch wows the crowds	Wednesday 26th August 2009
	RSPB Fairburn Ings has a new inquisitive fledgling   read on
	Focus On: Bullfinch	Thursday 19th April 2007
	The Bullfinch is one of our most enigmatic birds, not least because of its shy and retiring nature. Find out more about this attractive finch.   read on

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