The brambling is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It has also been called the cock o' the north and the mountain finch. It is widespread and migratory, often seen in very large flocks.
Region
Northern Eurasia
Typical Environment
Breeds across the boreal and subarctic forests from Scandinavia through northern Russia to eastern Siberia. In winter it disperses widely into western, central, and southern Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, northern India, and East Asia including China and Japan. Prefers coniferous and mixed birch–spruce woods for breeding, shifting to beech woods, farmland, parks, and gardens in the nonbreeding season. Often concentrates locally where beech mast or other seed resources are abundant.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2000 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
Bramblings are gregarious finches that can form enormous winter flocks numbering in the hundreds of thousands when beech mast crops are abundant. Males develop a striking black head in breeding plumage, while both sexes show a distinctive white rump in flight. They often irrupt southward in exceptional numbers following poor food years in the north. They readily visit feeders in winter, especially where sunflower seeds are offered.
Brambling in Pahalgam, Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir
Male and female in Poland
Eggs, Muséum de Toulouse
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
bounding flight with short, rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Highly gregarious outside the breeding season, forming large flocks that feed and roost communally. Breeds in loose pairs or small groups in boreal woodland, building a cup nest in trees or tall shrubs. Typically monogamous within a season, with both parents feeding the young.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Song is a simple, nasal, buzzing series often described as a repeated wheezy phrase. Calls include a sharp, nasal 'zwee' or 'dweee' given in flight and within flocks.
