Eurasian Bullfinch

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

iBullfinch
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Fringillidae Genus: Pyrrhula Species: P. pyrrhula
Binomial name
Pyrrhula pyrrhula (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

This bird breeds across Europe and temperate Asia. It is mainly resident, but many northern birds migrate further south in the winter.

Mixed woodland with some conifers is favoured for breeding, including parkland and gardens. It builds its nest in a bush or tree, laying 4-7 eggs. The food is mainly seeds and buds of fruit trees, which can make it a pest in orchards.

This species does not form large flocks outside the breeding season, and is usually seen as a pair or family group.

The Bullfinch is a bulky bull-headed bird. The upper parts are grey; the cap, face, flight feathers and short thick bill are black; and the white rump and wing bars are striking in flight. The adult male has red underparts, but females and young birds have grey-buff underparts. The pleasant song of this unobtrusive bird contains fluted whistles.

The Azores Bullfinch previously regarded as a subspecies of Eurasian Bullfinch, is today recognized as a distinct species.

The European Bullfinch is peculiar among Passeriformes for having spermatozoa with a rounded head and a blunt acrosome (Birkhead et al., 2006).