BTO BirdFacts | Chaffinch

Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs [Linnaeus, 1758]

Other Names	Trends & Distribution	Breeding & Survival	Biometrics	Books & Links

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	Order: Passeriformes	Family: Fringillidae
	BTO Codes: CH, CHAFF	EURING No: 16360
	Number in Britain: 5.6 million territories (Summer)
	Conservation Status:
	UK: GREEN
	European: Not a species of concern
	Global: Least Concern ( Details )
Links to: Images Videos Sound

Status in UK: (A) Resident Breeder, Passage/Winter Visitor
Subspecies: gengleri (R), coelebs (W) recorded in Britain (of 18 subsp. in the world)
.
Length: 14 cm	Wingspan: 26 cm	Weight: M/F: 24 g

Scientific name from:	L.: fringilla from Gr.: phrugilos=a sparrow described by Aristophanes and L.: caelebs=unmarried
World Distribution:	BREEDS: Europe, n Africa, nw Asia, WINTERS: south to s Asia, INTRODUCED: South Africa, New Zealand

Habitat:	Forest, woodland, farmland
Diet:	Summer, invertebrates, otherwise mostly seeds, widest diet of the finches
TitBit:	The Latin name of this bird, coelebs, deriving from the Latin from bachelor, was given by Linnaeus, who saw only male chaffinches in his native Sweden, females from its northern breeding grounds winter further south.

Population and Distribution

	Population Trend:	Wider Countryside Report
	Regional Trends:	Scotland Wales England English Regions
	Distribution:	Atlas Maps (Local Atlases) BBS Maps

British Population Size:

Summer: 5.6 million territories in 2000 Baker, H. et al. (2006) British Birds 99:25-44

First Record: 7th Century [Fossil evidence from Devensian (last) glaciation, 10-120,000 yr ago]

Conservation Status: GREEN Eaton, M.A. et al. 2009. British Birds 102:296-341

Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 GREEN Gregory, R.D. et al. 2002. British Birds 95:410-448

1996-2001 GREEN Gibbons, D.W. et al. 1996. RSPB Conservation Review 10:7-18

Races of Concern: gengleri AMBER (Important Population), coelebs GREEN

Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):

Most frequent in: Coniferous Wood

Also common in: Scrub, Arable Farmland, Pasture Farmland, Villages, Deciduous Wood

And found in: Towns

Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:

European Population Size:

Summer: 80 to 160 million pairs (Trend in Numbers) Bufield, I. & Van Bommel, F. (2004) Birds in Europe. Birdlife International, Cambridge.

Population Assesment from Birds in Europe

Distribution in Europe

Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(III), WBD(I*), Bern(III)

Survey Results:	BirdTrack
	Garden BirdWatch
	Winter Farmland Bird Survey

Breeding and Survival

Egg Size: 19 x 15 mm

Egg Weight: 2.2 g (of which 6 % is shell)

Number of Nest Records: 462

Clutch Size: 4 - 5 eggs

4.27 ± 0.78 (2 - 8) N = 3103 British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Nest Record Scheme data

Incubation: 12- 13 days

12.28 ± 1.69 (9 - 15.5) N = 3103

by the: Female

Fledging: 13 - 16days

14.12 ± 2.00 (10 - 17) N = 4437

as: Altricial, downy Altricial birds remain in the nest, precocial birds leave the nest soon after hatching

Source:

British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Nest Record Scheme data

First Clutches Laid: 30 Apr (12 Apr - 30 May) Joys & Crick 2004 Breeding periods for bird species in England BTO, Thetford

Number of Broods: 1

Trends in Breeding Productivity

Number Ringed: 30035 (Annual Totals)
Adult Survival: 0.589 ± 0.011 (M:0.551 ± 0.042; F:0.506 ± 0.046)
Juvenile Survival: 0.531 (in First-Year)

Age at First Breeding: 1 year	Typical Lifespan: 3 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 11 years 7 months 21 days (set in 1990)
Summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics

Ring Size: A

Wing Length

Adult:

85.0 ± 3.8

Range

79 - 91 mm, N =86590

Juvenile:

83.9 ± 3.4

79 - 89 mm, N =38754

Male:

87.6 ± 2.8

83 - 92 mm, N =46586

Female:

82.1 ± 2.4

78 - 86 mm, N =39832

Weight

Adult:

21.81 ± 3.65

Range

19.00 - 25.20 g , N =69727

Juvenile:

21.47 ± 3.05

18.70 - 24.50 g , N =31248

Male:

22.60 ± 2.61

20.00 - 25.80 g , N =37080

Female:

20.90 ± 4.38

18.50 - 23.70 g , N =32509

Source:

British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names


Gaelic: Breacan-beithe	Welsh: Ji-binc
Danish: Bogfinke	Dutch: Vink
Finnish: Peippo	French: Pinson des arbres
German: Buchfink	Hungarian: Erdei pinty
Icelandic: Bókfinka	Irish: Rí Rua
Italian: Fringuello	Norwegian: Bokfink
Polish: Zieba	Portuguese: Tentilhão-comum
Spanish: Pinzón común	Swedish: Bofink

Local Names:Pink, Shelfie

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Newton, I. 1972 The finches Collins, London [598.982 NEW]

See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead

Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs [Linnaeus, 1758]

Population and Distribution

Breeding and Survival

Biometrics

Other Names

For More Information...

BirdFacts