Common chaffinch

    Fringilla coelebs

Castilian: Pinzón vulgar

Catalan: Pinsà comú

Gallego: Pimpín

Euskera: Txonda arrunta

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Fringillidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

On the National List of Threatened Species, it appears in the “Of Special Interest” category. In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

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THREATS

It has lost large areas of territory to urban expansion, in addition to losing pine groves due to forest fires.

Length / size: 14-16 cm / 24,5-28,5 cm

Identification: Bird the size of a sparrow but with a longer tail and a very characteristic white spot on its shoulder. Its double wing band and the edge of its tail are white. The male's belly, breast, and cheeks are orange, his back brown, and his head bluish. During spring, he also has a black spot on top of his bill. However, the female's plumage is brown and duller, with greyish-green colours.

Song: It makes a penetrating "cheep" when perched. Its characteristic song that is frequently repeated: one verse, "tweet-tweet-tweet chot-chot-chot", which finishes abruptly with a "cheetereedeea".

Diet: Its diet is varied: insects, shoots, leaf buds, fleshy fruits, and seeds from Spanish lavenders, sunflowers, and beech trees.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in March, and at this time it is easy to observe the male singing from some place where he is visible in order to attract females. The female incubates and builds the nest in a bark ridge using roots, grass and lichens. When the chicks leave the nest, they form groups with the adults and remain together until the following spring.

HABITAT

It is a forest-dwelling species that prefers mature forests but occupies a wide variety of forests. It avoids farming regions, although in winter it is distributed in cultivated areas where there is almost no vegetation.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: Widely distributed throughout the peninsula. During breeding season it is absent in treeless areas, such as the Ebro and Guadalquivir Valleys, La Mancha, and the semi-arid southwest. There are three subspecies that are endemic to the Canary Island archipelago.

In Castile and León: Numerous and widespread in all the provinces but rare in flat, treeless regions in Burgos and Salamanca.

Movements and migrations: In winter, Iberian populations partially migrate to open areas that are less cold and lower. European specimens also arrive.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 6.4 million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: