Eurasian Chaffinch

The Eurasian chaffinch is a small finch about 14.5cm long, with a 24.5–28.5cm wingspan and a weight of 18–29g. The adult male shows a blue-grey cap, rust-red breast and olive-green rump, whereas the female is predominantly subdued grey-brown. Both sexes share two contrasting pale wing bars and white wedges on the outer tail. The male sings strongly from exposed perches, and regional song dialects occur, adding an audible clue to the readily visible wing pattern. (Wikipedia, Eurasian chaffinch account)

The species breeds widely from Europe across Asia to Siberia. A female constructs a deep cup nest in the fork of a tree, lays usually four or five eggs and incubates them for about thirteen days. As a fringilline finch it has a stout, conical bill suited to seeds, though the young are raised almost entirely on arthropods. Autumn moult gives fresh feathers buff fringes that make the plumage browner; these tips wear away over winter, exposing brighter breeding colours by spring. (Wikipedia, Eurasian chaffinch account)