Family: Fringillidae, Finches view all from this family
Description 5 3/4-6" (14.5-15.5 cm). Breeding male has black head and back, tawny-orange breast and shoulders, spotted flanks, white belly; in fresh fall plumage, the head, back and chest are flecked with buff. Juvenile and female have plain gray face, mottled crown, striped nape, tawny shoulders and breast.
Habitat Taiga in summer, especially northern birch forests. Out of breeding season, flocks in agricultural fields and woodlands (especially beech), where it feeds on grain and nut mast; also parks and gardens.
Nesting 5-7 greenish or brownish eggs with dark brown spots, in a woven cup nest of grasses and fibers trimmed with lichens or bark and lined with hair or feathers. Nests in northern Eurasian forests, arctic scrub. No U.S. breeding records.
Range A Eurasian species, fairly common but irregular as a migrant in the Bering Sea region, including the Aleutians; casual in fall and winter in southern Alaska; accidental south to Canada and northwestern U.S. states.
Voice Extended, wheezy song reminiscent of Greenfinch; also a nasal flight call, sweep.
Discussion Fairly common in Eurasia, especially during irruptive periods, the Brambling is a rare vagrant in our area. Migrant flocks as large as 50 are sometimes observed in the western Aleutians, but scattered individuals are more typical. Wanderers may appear at feeder trays.
