Black-headed Greenfinch (Chloris ambigua)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Black-headed Greenfinch

Chloris ambigua (Oustalet, 1896)

12–14 cmLength16 gWeight

It has a blackish-olive head and a single yellow patch on the wing.

Busiest months: December–January · Most records: China, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma)

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Head dark blackish-olive
  2. Bill conical, pale pink-brown
  3. A single yellow patch on the wing

Male, female and young

Sexes similar.

Where and when it's recorded

Black-headed Greenfinch has been recorded at 111 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 5 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Sa Pa – Ham Rong GardensVietnam127 records
  2. Laifengshan National Forest ParkChina75 records
  3. Zixi Mountain PNRChina63 records
More places
  1. Yunnan UniversityChina55 records
  2. Doi Pha Hom Pok NP – Doi AngkhangThailand53 records
  3. Kunming Xi ShanChina47 records
  4. Baihualing [General Area]China44 records
  5. Yay Aye Kan ReservoirMyanmar (Burma)41 records
  6. Liangwang MountainChina39 records
  7. Wuwei TempleChina33 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaVietnamMyanmar (Burma)ThailandLaos

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions

How big is the Black-headed Greenfinch?

The Black-headed Greenfinch is about 12–14 cm long and weighs around 16 g.

Where does the Black-headed Greenfinch live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: Himalayas to northern Thailand. It is most often recorded in China, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma).

When is the best time to see the Black-headed Greenfinch?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January and December (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Black-headed Greenfinch endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Black-headed Greenfinch as Least Concern.

What does the Black-headed Greenfinch eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Black-headed Greenfinch in?

It belongs to the family Finches, Euphonias (Fringillidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
12–14 cm
Weight
16 g
Habitat
Woodland
Diet
Seeds
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
78 mm
Tail
46 mm
Bill
15 mm
Tarsus
14 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: Himalayas to northern Thailand

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 2
  • Chloris ambigua taylori se Tibet
  • Chloris ambigua ambigua e and ne Myanmar, s China and n Indochina

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Finches, Euphonias Fringillidae
Genus
Chloris

Other birds in the genus Chloris

European GreenfinchEuropean GreenfinchChloris chlorisOriental GreenfinchOriental GreenfinchChloris sinicaBonin GreenfinchBonin GreenfinchChloris kittlitziYellow-breasted GreenfinchYellow-breasted GreenfinchChloris spinoidesVietnamese GreenfinchVietnamese GreenfinchChloris monguillotiEurasian ChaffinchEurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebsAfrican ChaffinchAfrican ChaffinchFringilla spodiogenysAzores ChaffinchAzores ChaffinchFringilla morelettiMadeira ChaffinchMadeira ChaffinchFringilla maderensisCanary Islands ChaffinchCanary Islands ChaffinchFringilla canariensis
Black-headed Greenfinch

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Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Esmetanin. ↗

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