Eurasian Bullfinch

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Bullfinch

Conservation status

Least Concern

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Fringillidae
Genus:	Pyrrhula
Species:	P. pyrrhula

Binomial name

Pyrrhula pyrrhula
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Bullfinch or Eurasian Bullfinch, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.

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. It builds its nest in a bush or tree, laying 4-7 eggs. The food is mainly seeds and buds of fruit trees, which can make it a pest in orchards.

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

The Bullfinch is a bulky bull-headed bird. The upper parts are grey; the cap, face, flight feathers and short thick bill are black; 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. The pleasant song of this unobtrusive bird contains fluted whistles.

The Azores Bullfinch previously regarded as a subspecies of Eurasian Bullfinch, is today recognized as a distinct species.

The European Bullfinch is peculiar among Passeriformes for having spermatozoa with a rounded head and a blunt acrosome (Birkhead et al., 2006).

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Pyrrhula pyrrhula. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

Birkhead, Timothy A.; Immler, Simone; Pellatt, E. Jayne & Freckleton, Robert (2006): Unusual sperm morphology in the Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula). Auk 123(2): 383–392. DOI: 10.1642/0004-8038(2006)123[383:USMITE]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract