Bullfinch
(Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
The round-bellied bullfinch is always a pleasure to see. This shy bird with its soft, gentle ‘peu’ call, is not the most common of garden birds, making it all the more exciting when they visit.
Male bullfinches have a cheerful pink-red chest which can appear rotund when puffed up during the winter. They also have a black head and a rounded, powerful beak. Females are slightly duller in their colouring with pale brown breasts, although they retain the glossy black cap.
Bullfinches have a very special adaptation which allows them to travel very long distances in search of food. Because of sporadic food sources that can be far away from the bullfinch’s nesting place, they have developed a unique food sac in the floor of their mouths below the tongue, meaning that parents can store and carry food for their chicks.
