Belongs to: finches & buntings

Compare with: chaffinch

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla


Best time to see: late Sep to mid Apr

Key facts

Close relative of the chaffinch that visits in winter

Habitat: woods, especially of beech, fields, hedges

Regular winter visitor from Scandinavia

Recognition

Orange breast and wingbars, buff-brown head and back; 14–15 cm

Often join other finches to feed in flocks in woods or on fields

Feeds on beech mast, weed seeds, grain; sometimes berries; insects in spring


© Robin Chittenden

© Robin Chittenden