Fun Bullfinch Facts For Kids

The bullfinch gets its name from its heavy-fronted, bull-headed appearance. The Eurasian bullfinch is the only species of the family of Fringillidae that lives on the islands.

There are seven members of the Bullfinch group distributed all around northern Europe, Asia (temperate regions), and Japan. There are orange bullfinch, gray-headed bullfinch, red-headed bullfinch, white-cheeked bullfinch, brown bullfinch, and Eurasian bullfinch.

Both adult males and adult females of the Eurasian bullfinch can be recognized easily due to different color patterns. This woodland bird can be seen in pairs during the spring and early winter in the garden, feeding on mixed seeds, sunflower hearts, and insects.

The male bird has a black tail, white rump, black cap head, velvet gray back, and a thick black bill. The male has a pure black jaw, gray nape, and beautiful pink sides to the head.

The pink goes down onto the throat, chest, and stomach.

The adult female lacks the colors that the male has; females have a white rump, a small thick blackish bill, and a grayish-brown chest and stomach. The baby bird of the species is plain dull brown.

This rosy-winged bullfinch is unafraid to communicate; hence sings its heart out. It is a friendly and playful bird.

If you want to welcome these birds into your garden, you need to plant some fruit trees which can be planted easily just like they grow in woodland. Read on to know more! If you like reading this article, then you must also have a read of red finch and European goldfinch facts too.

Bullfinch Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a bullfinch?

The Eurasian bullfinch is a bird; this bird tends to sing songs within the cover of trees and not out in the open in the woodland or a garden.

What class of animal does a bullfinch belong to?

The bullfinch (Pyrrhula) belongs to the bird (Aves) class of animals. This bird belongs to the family Fringillidae, which encompasses finches including the house finch, with 229 species of the finch divided into three subfamilies and 50 genera.

How many bullfinches are there in the world?

As the population of bullfinches is not in any danger, there are many of them in the world. However, the exact count of their population is not clear yet.

Where does a bullfinch live?

The breeding range of the bullfinch is in the UK and Asia, with around 200 thousand sets, spread all through the entire UK. In winter, the numbers increase marginally as these touristy birds fly to the United Kingdom from continental Europe to get away from the winters; these travelers then begin to show up in October.

What is a bullfinch's habitat?

The bullfinch prefers to live in woodland, farmland, gardens, towns, island, hedgerows, or orchards. They are commonly found in regions with broadleaved trees.

Who do bullfinches live with?

This bird species (with a habitat range from Northern Europe, Asia, and Japan) doesn't live in groups. They live in solitude.

How long does a bullfinch live?

This seeds-eating bird has an average life span of about two years.

How do they reproduce?

Bullfinches form their mating pairs for many years and, most times, for life. Their breeding starts in March/April in the spring season, and bullfinch eggs take around two to three weeks to incubate, when brought forth, both male and female guardians help take care of the juvenile.

The nest of the bullfinch is made by the female using mostly twigs and greenery. Bullfinches regularly prefer to nest in shrubberies and bushes and the woodland.

Some time ago, bullfinches generally settled in orchards; however, the actions of the ranchers and gardeners have prompted a fast decay of this species there. Commonly, the bullfinch lays eggs that are smooth in texture and light blue. The female can lay four to five eggs.

What is their conservation status?

The Azores bullfinch certainly is one of the world's rarest ever birds, with a meager population of fewer than 120 pairs limited to the São Miguel island, giving them the Critically Endangered status. Some species of bullfinch are recorded as a Golden Species of Preservation concern due to their new rearing breeding population decay.

Bullfinch numbers declined steeply during 1977–82, particularly in the farmlands. However, the decay during the mid-1980s has now improved after the 2000s.

Nonetheless, the UK numbers are presently 36% lower in comparison to the 1967s count. Across the world, however, most species are listed as Least Concern.

Bullfinch Fun Facts

What do bullfinches look like?

The bullfinch has a round chest and a puffed-up body. The species' tones and patterns differ based on their sex.

The males display a ruddy pink bosom and black cap head, while the females display a more stifled brown shade. Both have similar markings on the wings and head. They also have similar body shapes, making it simpler for one to recognize.

How cute are they?

They are very cute and adorable to look at due to the rich color patterns on the body of the male, female, and juvenile bullfinch birds.

How do they communicate?

They communicate just as the other call birds communicate. They have a range of sweet and high-pitched voices. They vocalize a lot. You might even hear their song in gardens when they come for feeding.

How big is a bullfinch?

Bullfinch birds are 6.4 in (16.5 cm) in length and have a wingspan of 10 in (26 cm). They tend to weigh up to 0.05 lb (27 g). Bullfinches are about 25-30 times bigger in weight than a sunflower seed.

How fast can a bullfinch fly?

The adult bullfinch is an amazing flier. However, the exact speed of their flight is unknown.

How much does a bullfinch weigh?

A bullfinch weighs up to 0.5-0.9 oz (16-27g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

P. pyrrhula is the species name for both male and female Eurasian bullfinch birds, and they do not have any gender-specific names.

What would you call a baby bullfinch?

A baby bullfinch could be called a juvenile bullfinch bird.

What do they eat?

Eurasian bullfinch likes to feed on creepy crawlies, berries, buds, and seeds. Indeed, their short, bold mouths make the ideal instrument for tearing open wild birds-seed.

Are they aggressive?

Yes, bullfinches can be aggressive with other similar species as they do not prefer living in states/packs in the wild.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, they can be good pets, but they are hard to keep. If you want to keep them, you need to create an orchard-like environment.

You can learn to imitate a whistle or a unique bird song easily. The Eurasian bullfinch was once a very popular cage bird. If you want to attract a bullfinch to your garden, use sunflower seeds and other seeds like elm, common nettle, and ash.

Did you know...

The Lesser Antillean bullfinch and Puerto Rican bullfinch are tree birds of the same order as the Eurasian bullfinch.

The rearing and keeping of finches is a legitimate pursuit. However, catching, owning, and selling wild finches is a space of crime that continues to be an inescapable issue in the UK. Ownership or caging of a wild bullfinch is considered to be an offense.

Bullfinches, as birds, symbolize the important qualities of happiness, appreciation, high energy, inspiration, idealism, and effortlessness. 

Thomas Bulfinch wrote a book called 'Bullfinch Mythology' about Greek Gods and Goddesses.

Are bullfinches a fruit tree pest?

In pre-spring/late winter, when the seeds fall short, bullfinches go to the buds of fruiting trees. They favor bloom buds of various trees and overleaf buds as these are more nutritious and can eat up to 30 buds every minute.

Because of their bounty during the 1950s to mid-1970s, their preference for bloom buds made them considered a pest of commercial fruit trees.

This prompted an authorized control of the species; however, it didn't appear to affect the numbers essentially. Unfortunately, they have gone through a populace decrease which is believed to be because of the changing agricultural practices and the deficiency of arable weeds.

How are bullfinches adapted?

Bullfinch pairs seem to stay together for more than a few breeding periods. They are not excessively regional during the breeding period, possibly because of the low thickness of the event, so it isn't unfathomable to see two males sharing bird feeders.

They tend to breed in gardens every once in a while as they like to settle in thick cover. An adult can travel a significant distance from the nest because of the sketchy distribution of food.

This implies that they tend to create unique food sacs situated on the floor of the mouth, permitting the guardians to bring back food to their chicks. They are the only species of finch to have such sacs.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds, from our grasshopper sparrow fun facts and brant surprising facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Bullfinch coloring pages.