Scientific name: Carduelis spinus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Finches and Crossbills
Field characters. 12 cm. Male easy to identify by green and yellow plumage, black head and chin, and yellow wing bar, rump and sides of tail base. Female without black on head, less yellow, more greyish-green and white and more streaked on upperparts, breast and flanks. Tail forked, bill greyish and rather long and pointed. Juvenile even more streaked and with less yellow. Usually in flocks in trees but also on the ground. Often with other finches, especially Redpolls.
Voice. Call 'tsee zi', 'tsoe ie'. Song twittering and with nasal tones, often given in flocks from tree tops.
Distribution. Quite common resident. In winter disperses over large part of the region.
Habitat. During breeding season found in mixed or coniferous forest, in winter especially in birches and alders.
Food. During summer insects and seeds, in winter mainly seeds. Often hangs upside down when eating seeds in birches and alders, like tits.