The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerinebird in the finch family Fringillidae.
This bird is widespread throughout Europe , north Africa and south west Asia. It is mainly resident, but some northernmost populations migrate further south.
Open woodland and gardens are favoured for breeding. It builds its nest in a tree or bush, laying 3-8 eggs.
This species can form large flocks outside the breeding season, sometimes mixed with other finches. The food is seeds, but the young are also fed insects.
The Greenfinch is 14-16 cm in length and is similar in size and shape to a Chaffinch, but is mainly green, with yellow in the wings and tail. The female and young birds are duller and have brown tones on the back. The bill is thick and conical. The song contains wheezes and twitters, and the male has a "butterfly" display flight.
Greenfinches have expanded their range in Britain and Ireland over the last 100 years and have moved from being a bird of forest edge to becoming a common garden bird.
Greenfinches have a number of different calls, uttered either from a perch or given in flight, including a rapidly delivered ‘chichichichichit’ and the characteristic nasal ‘dzwee’, the latter commonly heard during the breeding season.
Greenfinches tend to nest in rather loose colonies, with evergreen shrubs providing perfect sites for the placement of their nest, built with twigs, moss and grass, and lined with roots and hair.
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