Eurasian bullfinch

Taxonomy and systematics

The Eurasian bullfinch was listed in 1758 by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia pyrrhula. The Latin word pyrrhula comes from the Greek πυρρός (a flame-coloured bird, from πυρρός flame coloured, from πυρ fire : Pyrrha), a 'worm eating bird' that is mentioned by Aristotle. The Latin name for the species had been used by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner in his Historiae animalium of 1555.

The closest relatives of the bullfinches are in the genus Pinicola (the pine grosbeak).

Subspecies

The described subspecies include:

• British bullfinch (P. p. pileata) W. MacGillivray, 1837 – the British Isles
• Western European bullfinch (P. p. europaea) Vieillot, 1816 – western and central Europe
• Iberian bullfinch (P. p. iberiae) Voous, 1951 – mountains of southwestern France, northern Portugal and northern Spain
• Northern European bullfinch (P. p. pyrrhula) (Linnaeus, 1758) – northern, south-central and eastern Europe across Siberia and central Asia to the Sea of Okhotsk
• Caucasian bullfinch (P. p. rossikowi) Derjugin & Bianchi, 1900 – Turkey, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran
• Caspian bullfinch (P. p. caspica) Witherby, 1908 – Azerbaijan and northern Iran
• Baikal bullfinch (P. p. cineracea) Cabanis, 1872 – Siberia, northeastern Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China
• Cassin's bullfinch (P. p. cassinii) S.F. Baird, 1869 – the Russian Far East and northeastern China
• grey-bellied bullfinch (P. p. griseiventris) Lafresnaye, 1841 – the Russian Far East, China, Korea and Japan

The Azores bullfinch (P. murina), previously regarded as a subspecies of the Eurasian bullfinch, is now recognised as a separate species.

Description

The Eurasian bullfinch is a bulky bull-headed bird. The upper parts are grey; the flight feathers and short thick bill are black; as are the cap and face in adults (they are greyish-brown in juveniles), 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. It moults between July and October, but males do not have the duller autumn plumage that is typical of some other finches. The song of this unobtrusive bird contains fluted whistles, and is often described as 'mournful'.

Distribution and habitat

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.

Behaviour and ecology

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

Breeding

It builds its nest in a bush, (preferably more than four metres tall and wide), mature stands of scrub, or tree, laying four to seven eggs. It is peculiar among the Passeriformes for having spermatozoa with a rounded head and a blunt acrosome.

Feeding

The food is mainly seeds and buds of fruit trees, which can make it a pest in orchards: in England, for centuries every parish paid a bounty for every Eurasian bullfinch killed. Ash and hawthorn are favoured in autumn and early winter. If wild bird cover is planted for it, kale, quinoa and millet are preferred, next to tall hedges or woodland.