Finches in Scotland
Our list for Scotland has 13 finches recorded regularly there: 8 residents, 1 summer visitor, 2 winter visitors and 2 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Scotland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 13, most common first
ChaffinchFringilla coelebsResidentCommon14–16 cmRecorded all year
European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelisResidentCommon12–13 cmRecorded all year
LinnetLinaria cannabinaResidentCommon13–14 cmRecorded all year
GreenfinchChloris chlorisResidentCommon15–16 cmRecorded all year
BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhulaResidentCommon15–17 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinusResidentCommon11–13 cmRecorded all year
BramblingFringilla montifringillaWinter visitorUncommon14–16 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Common RedpollAcanthis flammeaResidentUncommon12–14 cmRecorded all year
TwiteLinaria flavirostrisSummer visitorUncommon13–14 cmRecorded all year
Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostraResidentUncommon15–17 cmRecorded all year
Common RosefinchCarpodacus erythrinusPassage migrantUncommon13–15 cmRegularly May–Oct
HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustesWinter visitorUncommon17–18 cmRegularly Sep–May
Parrot CrossbillLoxia pytyopsittacusPassage migrantRare16–18 cmRegularly Apr–Jun
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Eurasian Siskin 11–13 cm
- European Goldfinch 12–13 cm
- Common Redpoll 12–14 cm
- Linnet 13–14 cm
- Twite 13–14 cm
- Common Rosefinch 13–15 cm
- Chaffinch 14–16 cm
- Brambling 14–16 cm
- Greenfinch 15–16 cm
- Bullfinch 15–17 cm
- Red Crossbill 15–17 cm
- Parrot Crossbill 16–18 cm
- Hawfinch 17–18 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made