Common bullfinch
Bullfinch, common bullfinch(Order Passeriformes - Passeriformes, Family Finches - Fringillidae, Genus Bullfinch - Pyrrhula, Common bullfinch (obsolete) - Pyrrhula pyrrhula) - one of the well-known migratory birds forests of Russia. The bullfinch lives in forests with dense undergrowth, avoids only pure pine forests, and can also be found in gardens and city parks (especially during migrations). Distributed throughout almost the entire forest zone of Russia, except the south Far East. Bullfinches can be sedentary or nomadic. In summer, the bird lives both in dense forests and in open forests on the edges of burnt forests and clearings, but since it is very secretive and rarely seen, it is rarely seen at this time of year. But in winter it is simply impossible not to meet a colorful flock of bullfinches. In winter, flocks of bullfinches are very clearly visible, as are individual birds on the leafless trees of the park against a snow-white background. Speaking about the color of bullfinches, one cannot fail to note one more interesting feature. Their young are dark brown until the first autumn moult (only the wings and tail are black). When you have to observe a brood of bullfinches, these sharp differences between males, females and young ones are very striking and involuntarily attract attention. This bird is slightly larger than a sparrow and has a very dense build. This bird is bluish-gray above with a black cap, chin, wings and tail, white rump and wing stripe. The male and female differ sharply in plumage (sexual dimorphism). The female bullfinch has a breast of an even brownish-gray tone (lighter and browner than on the back). Male bullfinches have a pinkish-red breast. Young birds without a black cap are dark brown (only the wings and tail are black) until the first autumn molt. The wing stripe is pure white; The cheeks and chest of males are red (in the Caucasus and most of the forest zone) or red-pink (in birds from the Magadan region, Kamchatka and the Northern Kuril Islands); in females, the color of the breast does not differ depending on location. If you are lucky enough to observe a brood of bullfinches in the forest, these sharp differences between males, females and young ones are very striking and involuntarily attract attention. In winter, a significant part of the birds migrate to the south, leaving the boundaries of the nesting area - to the Amur basin, Transbaikalia, Central Asia, Crimea and North Africa. In March - April, bullfinches return back to the north. The bullfinch feeds mainly on seeds, buds and berries. The bullfinch's beak is very unique: it is black, plump, wide and blunt with a flat and hard palate, well adapted for removing seeds from rowan berries, elderberries, bird cherry, and skillfully deals with black juniper berries and hop cones. They especially love the seeds of ash, hornbeam, Norway maple, alder, birch, and linden. Although bullfinches stay in flocks all autumn and winter, they often have quarrels; by their temperament, the bullfinch is a phlegmatic, sedentary and not very accommodating bird. The main instigators of all quarrels are female snowflakes. Matriarchy reigns among bullfinches - males are completely subordinate to females. Lazy birds usually don’t come to the point of fights and brawls, but the wide-open beak and threatening creaking hiss are quite expressive. Bullfinches become noticeably more numerous at the end of winter, in February, in middle lane Russia. It is the birds that flew south in the fall that are beginning to return to the north. At this time, you can already observe males courting females. Closer to spring, the courtship of males becomes more persistent, in flocks one can even distinguish couples staying together, but still the dominance of females over males remains. Males always yield to them a more luxuriant cluster of berries and a branch with abundant seeds, but not voluntarily, but under the threat of a wide-open, creaking beak. The bullfinch nests in coniferous and mixed forests, preferring areas dominated by spruce. Bullfinches arrive at nesting sites in the second half of March - early April. In April, bullfinches almost completely disappear from the southern and central regions of Russia. Only a few pairs of them remain for the summer and nest, for example, in the Moscow region, Tatarstan and Bashkiria. The main nesting zone of our bullfinches stretches across the northern forests (to the Arctic Circle) - from Scandinavia, through the Urals and throughout Siberia to Kamchatka. It is interesting that towards the east, in Siberia, the size of the birds becomes larger and the color becomes lighter (a large and light-colored Kamchatka subspecies has been identified). Ornithologists found nests with clutches in different numbers May, fledglings and already flying chicks were observed in June. The nest is most often located on dense horizontal spruce branches, often far from the trunk, at a height of 2-5 m from the ground. Less often it is located on pine trees, birch trees, tall bushes juniper. The nest is made of closely intertwined thin spruce and other dry twigs and herbaceous stems. The tray is lined with soft plant material mixed with small quantity wool and feathers. Sometimes moss and lichen are present in the outer walls. Bullfinches' nests usually have a classic cup-shaped, sometimes somewhat flattened, shape. Socket diameter 110-200 mm, nest height 40-80 mm, tray diameter 70-100 mm, tray depth 35-60 mm. Typically, a clutch of eggs is 4-6 pieces, measuring (19-23) x (14-15) mm. light blue in color with spots, dots and dashes of red-brown and dark brown color, forming a corolla at the blunt end. Only the female incubates the clutch for 13-15 days; the chicks stay in the nest for about two weeks. In September - October, bullfinches emerge from the forest and join the northern populations migrating to the south. The chicks are fed mainly with plant food, and insects are eaten only accidentally.
Bullfinch female
The bullfinch is often kept in cages as a beautiful songbird.
Wikimedia Foundation.
Common bullfinch- Pyrrhula pyrrhula see also 18.26.11. Genus Bullfinch Pyrrhula. Common Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula Wing stripe pure white; The cheeks and chest of males are red (in the Caucasus and most of the forest zone) or red-pink (in birds from Magadan... Birds of Russia. Directory
Winter quietly entered the falling forest, hugged the trees with cold hands and covered them with a snowy shroud. And as if from the folds of her white clothes, the most winter birds - bullfinches - flew out.
Winter is reliably involved even in the name of these birds - bullfinches, snowbirds. And, as if in contrast to this, the Latin “name” of the bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula is translated as “fiery”! It is not difficult for anyone who is familiar with bullfinches to guess that the reason for this is the bright coloring of male bullfinches. There is another version of the origin of the name “bullfinch” - from the Turkic word “snig” - “red-breasted”, which determined the Old Russian spelling “snigir”.
Except common bullfinch On the territory of Russia there are two more species - gray bullfinch(inhabits mountain forests of Siberia and the Far East) and Ussuri bullfinch(Far East, Sakhalin and Kurile Islands).
Bright red balls with thick beaks and black caps, strewn with branches and so contrasting with the dazzling snow winter forest, - this image of a bullfinch is, without a doubt, familiar to everyone from childhood. He wanders from one book page to another, flies from postcard to postcard...
It’s as if the February snowstorm added a little snow to its color, made it soft, pastel, and slightly dimmed the red fire. Only male bullfinches have such plumage - with a chest burning with fire. The females are painted in soft gray tones, as if mixed with the same snow.
The wings of bullfinches are black with a metallic tint, the lower back and undertail are white, clearly visible in a flying bird.
The plumage of young bullfinches - without the characteristic black cap, is ocher-brown - as if winter has not yet touched their feathers with pastel snowy colors. But already at the end of summer, young bullfinches molt, gradually acquiring soft pink or ash-gray tones.
Bullfinches inhabit all European forests and are found in Western and Central Asia, in Japan. These birds do not fly outside the forest and forest-steppe zones, preferring to live in coniferous and mixed forests with dense undergrowth.
Bullfinches They live predominantly sedentary, while in the cold season the birds unite in flocks, becoming clearly visible. Bullfinches from the northern parts of their range migrate to the south with the arrival of cold weather, “bringing winter with them.”
In late autumn and winter, bullfinches can often be seen in city parks and squares. With the onset of spring, the colors of bullfinches fade, and the birds themselves become secretive and unnoticeable, revealing their presence only with bewitching quiet creaks.
Massive beak bullfinch it just seems powerful and can easily crack even a nut. This beak is often stained with the juice and pulp of rowan berries, from which bullfinches eat the seeds with appetite.
Bullfinches also feast on other plant foods - linden, bird cherry and larch buds, ash and maple lionfish, lilac and weed seeds.
Adult bullfinches– almost exclusively herbivorous, but parents add to the chicks’ diet small insects and spiders.
A pair of bullfinches is found during winter migrations, starting nesting itself in April. To build a nest, bullfinches, as a rule, choose dense coniferous undergrowth (spruce, fir, juniper), usually placing the nest low above the ground, in the forks of branches near the trunk.
Bullfinches work throughout the week, constructing a cozy structure of thin twigs, softly lined with lichens and mosses, sometimes with feathers and wool. Clutch - 3-7 light, bluish eggs with small spots on the shell. In the north, bullfinches breed once a year; in the south they have repeated clutches.
Not only males, but also females can sing among bullfinches.
Nesting bullfinches are not aggressive towards each other, but prefer to settle at a distance.
Males do not take part in the construction of the nest; only females are involved in the construction of bullfinches. Males guard the area and feed their spouse during incubation.
Thanks to repeated captures of ringed bullfinches, it became known that they can live in the wild for up to 17 years.
According to one legend, the bullfinch is similar to Prometheus, and its red coloration of the chest arose due to the burn that the bird received after bringing fire to people from heaven to earth. According to another legend, the red color arose from the blood of the crucified Christ, whom the bullfinch tried to free by pulling the nails out of his hands. In fact, the red color of feathers is associated with the content of red pigments in their cells - carotenoids.
On the territory of Russia, the common bullfinch is distinguished three subspecies, differing in size and color of plumage.
The Russian Bird Conservation Union (SOPR) declared the bullfinch Bird of the Year 2008.
- Where do the bullfinches go? IN last years Many residents of the Northwestern region of Russia complain that fewer and fewer red-breasted birds can be found in the city limits with the arrival of cold weather. Scientists suggest that this situation may be associated with an increase in the number of bullfinches’ natural enemy – the sparrowhawk, which often stays for the winter in the vicinity of cities. To avoid being attacked by a predator, bullfinches are forced to avoid open landscapes, where they are most often seen by city dwellers (https://elementy.ru/email/5021767/Kuda_ischezli_sn... .)
- Bullfinch - mockingbird. The bullfinch has long been one of the most popular birds for home keeping in Rus', and its ability to imitate different sounds was highly valued. For such talents, bullfinches were even called “Russian parrots.” Remember! Now catching wild bullfinches is illegal! If you want to get to know this magnificent bird better, do not deny yourself the pleasure of watching bullfinches in natural environment habitat - in the forest! No amount of cage keeping will allow you to discover the true beauty of a forest bird. Feed the bullfinches at the feeders and admire the free bullfinches!
In the article about the bullfinch, photos were used: (Yandex.Photos) nat-volga, Kalina.
It's better to see once than to hear a hundred times;) How a bullfinch eats a rowan. Rare footage
Bullfinch is one of the most beautiful birds. This bird is known to everyone in Russia; it decorates winter New Year cards, and winter poems are written about it. For example, remember:
In the garden where the finches sang,
Look today
Like pink apples
Bullfinches on the branches
Indeed, the bullfinch is traditionally considered a winter bird. We were told at school that bullfinches fly from our places to the north in the summer because it is too hot for them here. However, only in Russian the name of this bird is associated with snow. The idea that the bullfinch is a winter guest is a common misconception among residents of the middle zone. In fact, the bullfinch only becomes noticeable with the onset of winter. In the summer, against the background of other birds, with its quiet voice, the bullfinch simply gets lost in the treetops, and it is quite difficult to see it. Bullfinches nest throughout almost the entire territory of Russia, wherever there are coniferous trees. They also like city parks. The bullfinch at this time does not seek to catch the eye: family concerns are a troublesome and dangerous matter. The dandy outfit for which the common bullfinch received its scientific Latin name Pyrrhula pyrrhula (pyrrhula) means “fiery.”
One of the mysteries of the bullfinch is its bright color. It must be said that the red breast is an attribute of the male, the female is more modest, gray. Bright coloring is not very justified from the point of view of protection from predators, although it helps attract females and procreate. How do male bullfinches hide from their enemies? It turns out that it's quite simple. Bullfinches settle in coniferous forests, but prefer mixed areas where there is good grass and deciduous trees. This is where the bullfinch “disappears.” In a clearing it is a flower, but in the foliage it is a withered leaf or an old twig.
According to ornithologists, bullfinches are quite smart birds. In the magazine "World of Birds" No. 36 there is interesting article about bullfinches, in which the author tells a real-life incident when one bullfinch, feeling that he was being hunted, turned over and lay on his back to hide his bright feathers and become invisible.
A few words about the pedigree of bullfinches (from the same source). The ancestor of all modern bullfinches is the brown or Nepalese “buffalo finch”. These birds live in South Asia and are more similar in color to young bullfinches that have just left the nest. From them, thousands of years later, five modern species bullfinches with a characteristic “cap” of black feathers on their heads. These are the Philippine or barnacle (Philippines), Azores (Azores), gray (Eastern Siberia and the Far East), Ussuri (Far East, from the Kuril and Japanese islands to northern Korea) and common (Europe and Northern Asia) bullfinches. Of all these species, only the males of the common and Ussuri bullfinches have red color in the plumage of the lower part of the body and cheeks. The males of others are almost indistinguishable from the inconspicuous females, and only gray bullfinches are completely devoid of red pigment. Each species of bullfinches has many subspecies. According to various sources, the common bullfinch alone has about nine subspecies forms. And there are also ecological races and local populations, whose voices can differ greatly from each other. In general, bullfinches are an inexhaustible topic of research for ornithologists.
Bullfinches feed mainly on plant seeds, rowan, viburnum, and hawthorn. Bullfinches, however, are not interested in juicy pulp; they take it from the berries fruit trees and shrubs seeds, crush them in the beak, clearing them of hard shells, and eat them.
According to the observations of city residents, their Lately becoming less and less in city parks and squares. Why are bullfinches disappearing?
There is an opinion that birds of prey, sparrowhawks, whose numbers are growing in cities, are to blame for the disappearance of bullfinches. Sparrowhawks are migratory birds. Recently, sparrowhawks remain in Moscow throughout the winter. Kind-hearted people regularly replenish the feeders for tits, and at the same time provide prey for sparrowhawks. While the tits are busy arguing over the sunflower seeds, a rapidly flying sparrowhawk manages to grab one of them and hide before being discovered by the annoying hooded crows.
With the regular appearance of sparrowhawks, smart bullfinches stop feeding in open places, where they can become easy prey for a predator. At the same time, the number of bullfinches changes slightly, but they switch from feeding, for example, rowan seeds to other foods. In Moscow, wintering bullfinches can be found feeding in the crowns of maple and ash trees on the outskirts of forest parks, and in public gardens they hide in dense thickets of bladderwort, where they feed on its seeds, scattering the husks of dry bolls on the snow. An attentive observer can easily spot bullfinches there by their characteristic creaky whistle. In addition, bullfinches feed on nettle seeds in wastelands.
It should be noted that the bullfinch is one of the most common domestic birds. Bullfinches are successfully bred and even bred a number color forms. It is known that in Germany a hundred years ago, young male bullfinches were caught in large quantities, taught to sing, and exported throughout Europe for a lot of money. Now it is almost forgotten, and the bullfinch is valued only for its bright color. Although his abilities for onomatopoeia are almost unique. Other species of passerine birds do not have such talents. Female bullfinches can sing almost like males, which not many people can do.
People love bullfinches. A pet bullfinch can even be a child's dream New Year. Like in Agnia Barto’s poem “The Bullfinch”.
On Arbat, in a store,
There is a garden outside the window.
There's a blue dove flying there,
Bullfinches whistle in the garden.
I am one such bird
Behind the glass I saw in the window,
I saw such a bird
That now I can’t sleep.
Bright pink breast
Two shiny wings...
I couldn't for a minute
Break away from the glass.
Because of this very bird
I cried for four days.
I thought my mother would agree -
I will have a bird.
But mom has a habit
The answer is always wrong:
I tell her about the bird,
And she told me about the coat.
There's a hole in your pockets,
Why am I fighting in the yard?
That's why I should
Forget about the bullfinch.
I followed my mother
He was waiting for her at the door,
I'm on purpose at lunch
He talked about bullfinches.
It was dry, but the galoshes
I obediently put it on
Before that I was good -
I didn’t recognize myself.
I almost didn’t argue with my grandfather,
Didn't move around at lunch
I said "thank you"
I thanked everyone for everything.
It was difficult to live in the world
And to tell the truth,
I endured this torment
Only for the sake of the bullfinch.
How hard I tried!
I didn't fight with girls.
When will I see the girl?
I'll shake my fist at her
AND I'm going quickly aside,
It's like I don't know her.
Mom was very surprised:
- What's wrong with you, pray tell?
Maybe you're sick with us -
You didn't fight on your day off!
And I answered sadly:
- I’m always like this now.
I stubbornly achieved
I didn't bother in vain.
“Miracles,” said mom.
And I bought a bullfinch.
I brought it home.
Finally, now he is mine!
I shouted to the whole apartment:
- My bullfinch is alive!
I will admire them
He will sing at dawn...
Maybe we can fight again
Tomorrow morning in the yard?
Where do bullfinches fly in the spring? October 5th, 2014
Bullfinch, common bullfinch (lat. Pyrrhula pyrrhula) is a well-known representative of the genus Pyrrhula. Thanks to its characteristic coloring, this bird is easily recognizable. Most often, bullfinches can be seen in the city in winter - they love to feast on rowan berries. But a natural question arises: where is bullfinches spend the summer? Where are they flying to? Where are these warm regions?
Let's find out more about this...
The range of this small bird is very extensive. The bullfinch lives in Europe, front and eastern Asia, Siberia, Japan. It can live in both highland and lowland forests, avoiding only treeless areas. In Russia, the bird lives in forest and forest-steppe zones, where you can find coniferous trees in large quantities. Most of all, bullfinches like spruce forests in river valleys. The bullfinch is a small bird, the size of a sparrow, although visually it seems larger. Males have a characteristic coloring, by which they are easily distinguished from other birds. Its cheeks, neck, belly and sides are bright red. The color intensity may vary depending on the species of bullfinch and its individual characteristics.
The bird's back and shoulders are gray, and there is a black “cap” on its head. The female bullfinch looks much more modest. Her neck, cheeks, belly and sides are gray-brown. The shoulders and neck are gray, and the back is brownish-brown. The head on top, around the eyes and beak, is black, just like the males. Surely you have seen bullfinches in the city in winter, but they are nowhere to be seen in summer.
However, from central Russia bullfinches They usually don't fly away. Bullfinches refer to settled birds. That is, they stick to their small territory and do not fly away anywhere. And we sometimes see them near our houses in winter because if there are snowy and frosty winters, then like other birds, bullfinches have nothing to eat, so they fly to us in search of food, and not for long. I myself have only seen it a couple of times, living in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine.
In summer they live in coniferous forests, feeding on tree buds, berries, fruits, and seeds. The birds behave quietly and unnoticed, hiding in the treetops, so it is very difficult to detect them. In winter, finding food becomes much more difficult, so bullfinches and go to the city. Birds living in northern latitudes fly to warmer regions for the winter, sometimes flying over vast distances.
You can meet wintering bullfinches in Mediterranean countries, as well as in northern Africa and even Alaska. The birds return to their usual nesting sites around the end of March - beginning of April, and the female almost immediately begins to make a nest.
By the way, in summer bullfinches can be found in the Caucasus, where the smaller Caucasian subspecies nests. The Ussuri bullfinch is found in the south of the Far East and Sakhalin, the gray bullfinch - on the southern outskirts of the Eastern and Central Siberia. But all these subspecies differ from ordinary bullfinches in less bright colors. Distant relatives of the common bullfinch are the Mongolian bullfinch, which nests in Altai, and the long-tailed bullfinch (uragus), living in Southern Siberia.
The male bullfinch is very beautiful: a bright red breast is set off by a shiny black cap, black wings and tail and an ash-gray back. It is impossible to confuse such a bird with anyone else! Females are more modestly colored: their breasts are gray, sometimes with a faint pink honey fungus, top part bodies - brownish. If you look at the bullfinch from the back, the bright white stripe on the lower back catches your eye. Both females and males have it. Young birds retain their childish, loose brownish-gray plumage until autumn, but after the first real moult they put on adult plumage.
Many city residents are sure that these birds come to us only in winter. This is apparently where their name came from: bullfinch - which means to the snow. But in fact, these birds also live with us in the summer: they build nests, incubate eggs, and hatch chicks. However, at this time bullfinches are very secretive; they even rarely speak. Having broken into pairs, the birds quietly go about their business among the dense summer greenery. And their numbers in summer are much lower, since those bullfinches that migrated to our latitudes for the winter fly home to the north.
The beautiful bright bird has long attracted the attention of lovers. Keeping a bullfinch is not difficult: it is quite calm and even somewhat melancholic. He is not too picky about food, the only problem is a tendency to obesity, but this can be easily avoided with proper diet. The bird quickly gets used to humans and is usually non-aggressive towards other birds. The bullfinch begins to sing in captivity a few days after being caught, but its song is not very sophisticated. Quiet melodic whistles, buzzing sounds and creaks - that's all. It is interesting that in one of the areas a very interesting fishery existed for many years. Young bullfinches were removed from their nests, tamed and taught to sing, specially whistling various melodies, and sometimes even arias from operas. These birds are beautiful mockingbirds. Some feathered geniuses successfully imitated 2-3 melodies. Such trained birds were then sold throughout Europe.
Bullfinches are both sedentary and nomadic. The inhabitants of the northern taiga and forest-tundra have to leave their homes in winter and fly to places where it is warmer and there is more food. Bullfinches nesting in southern forests can stay in one place all year. In general, the number of these birds in winter strongly depends on the abundance of their favorite food, primarily rowan, maple and ash. If there are a lot of them, then bright flocks of bullfinches, appearing in early December, remain until spring and only at the end of February - March return home to the taiga. If there is little food, then most of the migrating birds, having enlivened the dull winter landscape for several days, fly further to the south. They appear again only at the very end of February, on the way to the northern nesting grounds.
Family concerns of bullfinches usually begin in April-May. The flocks split into pairs and occupy suitable areas. According to bullfinches, living space must have good undergrowth and sparse tree stand. They give preference to spruce trees, although deciduous trees and even juniper are also suitable. Males sing softly while sitting in dense branches; Sometimes females also sing, which is very rare in birds. The nests, like those of all finches, are very reliable, dense and durable. Bullfinches weave them from thin twigs, dry grass and moss, and the inside (tray) is lined with soft hair, wool and thin roots. Only the female builds the bird house. Most often it is located not too high, 1.5-2.5 m above the ground, and away from the trunk. Bullfinches prefer to settle in such dense branches that it is quite difficult to notice the nest.
Having built a reliable home, the female lays 4-6 eggs. They are usually light blue or greenish, with sparse blurred spots. Only the female incubates; the male carefully feeds his girlfriend during the two weeks that she warms the future offspring. The chicks hatch completely helpless, covered with long dark gray down. Only 12-16 days are needed for ugly ducklings to turn out to be, of course, not swans, but also very beautiful birds. At first, the chicks fly everywhere after their parents, begging for food, and after 1-2 weeks they become completely independent.
Having finished their family affairs, the broods unite in small flocks and begin to wander, choosing the most feeding places for stopping. The bullfinch feeds mainly on plant foods: seeds, berries, buds. In winter, when flocks of red-breasted beauties often visit cities and towns, they are usually seen on rowan trees. It is curious that, unlike the waxwing, bullfinches are not interested in the pulp of berries - they only need seeds, so the bird cannot be classified as a distributor of rowan. Bullfinches also readily eat the seeds of lilac, ash, maple and even wild apples. The powerful thick beak makes this easy. It is interesting that birds do not know how to get food from cones; they only pick up what has fallen on the ground. The parents also feed the chicks mainly with seeds, only occasionally adding spiders and insects to the main food.
It is interesting to observe the behavior of these birds at feeders. At the end of winter, in February-March, flocks of bullfinches often gather around “bird canteens”. And very often you can see a funny picture: in the middle of the feeder, with her feathers menacingly fluffed up and her beak opening, a female sits and, hissing, does not allow anyone to eat: neither tits, nor sparrows, nor her own bullfinch brothers. Moreover, the bird has no time to eat: you will be distracted by the seed, and then they will take up the place. So in the bullfinch family it is the female who rules the show, the handsome males sit modestly on the sidelines, waiting until the formidable queen gets tired of guarding her treasure and she finally flies away.
There are several subspecies of the common bullfinch. They all differ in size and color intensity. In the middle zone, the Eastern European bullfinch is common, in the Caucasus - the smaller and brighter Caucasian bullfinch, and in Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Eastern Siberia- Kamchatka. In this subspecies, the males are less brightly colored.
Class: birds.
Order: passerines.
Family: finches.
Genus: bullfinch.
Species: common bullfinch.
Latin name: Pyrrhula pyrrhula.
Dimensions: body length - 15-19 cm, wingspan - 24-30 cm.
Weight: 24-36 g.
Colour: gray back, black wings and tail, red chest in males, gray in females.
Life expectancy of a bullfinch: 17-18 years.
