Eurasian bullfinch, common bullfinch or bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula

Features

The Eurasian bullfinch is a finch-sized bird, but has a stronger figure.

Species	Bird
Living space	Conifer forest, Deciduous forest
Size	15,5 - 17,5 cm
Weight	24 g

Description

Both the male and the female have a strong short conical black beak, and a black hat on their head. Young specimens do not have black hats. Specimens of both sexes have an asphalt-grey nape, shoulders and back, while their rump and abdominal side of the legs are snow-white. Their tail is all black, and the blackness of their wings is only interrupted by a transverse white stripe. The males have a pink-red belly, hips, breasts and cheeks, while the females are pink-grey on the abdominal side of their body. Although the Eurasian bullfinch is active during the day and not timid, we rarely see it, because it is a quiet and unobtrusive bird. It is most frequently noticed because of its gentle, melancholically quiet and low whistle ‘peeu’ or ‘pew’. It feeds mainly on the food of plant origin, various seeds and shoots. In summer, it also loves feeding itself and its chicks on insects and other small invertebrates. The Eurasian bullfinch lives in mixed forests with lush undergrowth, in cultural landscapes with lonely trees, as well as in parks, graveyards and larger gardens. It nests in April and May in thick bushes or on branches of trees up to two meters above the ground. It is a year-round species. It migrates only exceptionally and for short distances. For example, in long and sharp winters, it descends from high-lying places into lowlands.