GREENFINCH (Carduelis chloris) - Verdier d’Europe

GREENFINCH (Carduelis chloris) - Verdier d’Europe

 
Greenfinch © Frank Jarvis

Greenfinch © Frank Jarvis

 

SUMMARY

A great looking bird with a very lively cheerful song usually delivered from an exposed perch:

 

 

The song of the Greenfinch is a series of complex trills and whistles, the basic note of which is a rapidly repeated "kip" sound, perhaps a bit reminiscent of a canary:

Male Greenfinch on a singing perch © Arlette Berlie

Male Greenfinch on a singing perch © Arlette Berlie

This song may sound confusing, but we can break it down into a few elements that are very distinctive and immediately identify this bird. One characteristic sound is a rather horrible nasal "tscheeeer", its hard to call it "song" as it is such an unmusical note. It can be made on its own when it sounds more like a call, but it is also included in song sequences. Cardueline finches seem to get calls and songs confused !

This noise has a slight inflection so it is on a rising scale:

 

Greenfinch “tscheeeer” song

 
Female Greenfinch © Arlette Berlie

Female Greenfinch © Arlette Berlie

Another characteristic sound is a sort of deep swirl that has a hockey-stick shape to it:

 

Greenfinch “swirl”

 

You can hear it in this sequence:

Finally another distinctive phrase frequently used is a strong "chew-chew-chew":

 

Greenfinch “chew-chew-chew”

 

Listen for it here:

 
 
 
 

So yes, a pretty complex and confusing set of phrases and songs, but a wonderful sound when it is all strung together. Here is a 2 minute sequence of a very excited male singing rapidly and strong and using just about all of the phrases described above:

 
 
 
 

This type of musical stream is usually delivered from an exposed perch so everyone is aware of its presence - but just in case someone loses attention then Greenfinches can also be seen singing in flight - during a song flight the wing beat is often slowed down and it flies in a very buoyant bouncy kind of manner rather reminiscent of a butterfly!

(Here is some nice artwork to peruse as you listen to that last long song).

Greenfinch studies © Frank Jarvis

Greenfinch studies © Frank Jarvis

 

GOLDFINCH (Carduelis carduelis) -Chardonneret élégant

GOLDFINCH (Carduelis carduelis) -Chardonneret élégant

SISKIN (Carduelis spinosa) - Tarin des aulnes

SISKIN (Carduelis spinosa) - Tarin des aulnes

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