Bullfinches have a broad diet, consisting mainly of the seeds and berries of a variety of plants. When these are scarce during the spring they turn to the buds of fruit trees. When bullfinches occurred in higher numbers they were considered to be pests of orchards. Nests are built in dense hedges and woods between four and seven feet from the ground. Fine twigs, moss and lichens are used to construct the main body of the nest and a lining of fine roots is added. In May 4-5 pale blue spotted eggs are laid, the female incubates the eggs for 12-14 days after which both parents feed the chicks. A further 12 to 16 days later the chicks fledge. A second brood is then usually produced (3).

This stocky finch has a stubby bill (2), a black face and cap, a white bar on the black wings, and a white rump (3). Males have blue-grey upperparts and bright red underparts whilst females are duller with pinkish-brown underparts (2). Juveniles are similar in appearance to females but do not acquire the black cap until after their first moult. The flight is undulating and the calls include a subdued piping warble (2).

Across Europe and Asia from the British Isles through Japan.

Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )

The bullfinch is distributed throughout Britain, but is scarce in the extreme north and west. It is found throughout central and northern Europe from the Atlantic coast of Western Europe and Morocco to the Pacific coasts of Russia and Japan. In the south of Europe it tends to be a winter visitor (2).

The Bullfinch is a small bird, about six inches in length. The male has a distinctive black cap, rose-red underparts, and white rump. The female and juveniles are more pinkish-grey in color.

Systems

• Terrestrial

Except for in Japan and Britain, where they inhabit deciduous woodland and cultivated grounds, Bulfinches are found in coniferous or mixed woodlands.

Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; forest

Found in plantations, woodland, gardens (2) and farmland where it is associated with scrub and untrimmed hedgerows (3).

Bullfinches feed primarily on buds and seeds. The buds from fruit trees, especially woodland trees, are eaten exclusively in the spring. A bullfinch feeds on the buds by landing on the tip of a branch and slowly moving towards the trunk, stripping the bud as it goes. However, it is only when supplies of seeds remaining from the previous summer and autumn diminish that bullfinches attack buds. In deciduous woods, bullfinches demonstrate a preference for the seeds of dock, nettles, privet, bramble, birch and ash. These seeds are the main food supply until buds begin to develop.

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 12.6 years.

Maximum longevity: 17.5 years (wild)

Bullfinches construct nests containing fine twigs with moss and lichen intertwined and a lining of black roots and shrubs. Nests are usually placed only a few feet above ground. There are sometimes up to three clutches of 4-5 eggs laid during the season, which spans early May to mid-July. Chicks hatch out in about two weeks and are fed a mixture of seeds and insects. The male Bullfinch helps the female incubate the eggs, andhe also feeds her while she sits on the nest. He later assists the female in collecting food for the young.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species. 

 
There are 23 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
 

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 23
Species: 38
Species With Barcodes: 1

Only 1/3 of all clutches in woodland and 2/3 of those in farmlands live to adulthood. The remaining are eaten by predators, which are mainly jays, magpies, stoats, and weasels. The Bullfinch has been persecuted in England since the 16th century. Nevertheless, numbers continue increasing and more efficient ways of killing them are constantly being sought.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Listed on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern (3), the Birds Directive (4) and Appendix III of the Bern Convention (1). Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) in the UK (4).

Population

Between 1968 and 1991 there was a massive 75% decline in bullfinch numbers on farmland and a 47% decline in woodland in the same period (4). The precise causes of this decline are not yet known, but the following factors are thought to be involved. In the last 50 years there has been a general trend of removing trees and hedgerows in agricultural land, and of over-trimming the remaining hedges. This has removed nesting sites and food sources for the bullfinch. In common with most farmland birds, other changes in agricultural practices such as the loss of winter stubble fields and increased use of herbicides have impacted on the bullfinch. Furthermore, despite being protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981, it was legal to trap and kill bullfinches as pests until recently. After new licensing laws came into force in 1996, trapping is now only permitted under licence once serious damage has been proven and no other alternatives exist (4).

As the bullfinch was not recognised as a species of conservation concern until recently, very little conservation work has been focused on it. It may have benefited from general measures such as the creation and management of broadleaved woodland. Agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship encourage sympathetic hedgerow and field margin management that will help the bullfinch, as will the new Hedgerows Regulations. The bullfinch is a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, the plan aims to halt the decline by 2003 and promote a recovery of numbers (4).

Bullfinches inflict serious damage on orchards by feeding on the buds of fruit trees. This has been a serious problem, especially in south-east England, where orchards capable of yielding several tons of fruit have been stripped by bullfinches so efficiently that only a few pounds could be harvested.