Bird guide · Chloris chloris
Greenfinch
What the greenfinch eats, where it lives, when it comes to feeders and how to recognise it – with sightings from across the UK.
- Season
- Year-round
- Size
- 5.9 in (15 cm)
- Eats
- black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, peanuts
- Feeds
- tube, tray/platform
- Most common
- England, Wales, Northern Ireland
Food
What do greenfinches eat?
At feeders, greenfinches take black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, peanuts, nyjer.
Sociable but may squabble among themselves or with other birds at the bird table.
Feeder that suits it
A low tray or platform feeder, or seed scattered on the ground below your feeder.
Range
Where do greenfinches live?
Woods, hedges, farmland, parks and gardens; absent only from treeless uplands. By share of all bird sightings, greenfinches are most common in England (0.9%).
Nations where greenfinches are most common
- England0.9%
- Wales0.6%
- Northern Ireland0.6%
- Scotland0.6%
Share of all bird sightings in each nation that are greenfinches, 2019–2024.
Season
Does the greenfinch migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the UK it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in March.
Share of all bird sightings in the UK that are greenfinches, by month.
Identification
How to identify the greenfinch
Male: Green and yellow finch with a flash of yellow in wings and tail in flight.
Female: Duller, with brown tones on the back.
Size: 5.9 in (15 cm)
On camera
Getting the greenfinch on a feeder camera
Most visits happen on the ground or on low trays. A camera feeder with a wide tray, placed low near cover, catches far more than a hanging tube.
Questions
Greenfinch: questions
What do greenfinches eat?
At feeders, black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, peanuts, nyjer.
Do greenfinches migrate?
Year-round resident. Across the UK it is reported in every month; its share of bird sightings is highest in March.
Where do greenfinches live?
By share of all bird sightings, they are most common in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland.
What does a female greenfinch look like?
Duller, with brown tones on the back.
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