Common Linnet

Linaria cannabina (Linnaeus, 1758)

≈14 cmLength24 cmWingspan20 gWeight

This small, slender finch has a long tail, with a red head patch and red breast in the male in summer.

Busiest months: April–May and October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Male has a red head patch and red breast in summer
Male has a gray nape in summer
Upperparts brown, throat dirty white, bill gray
Slender build and long tail

Male, female and young

Female and juvenile lack red, with white underparts and pale yellowish-brown streaks on the breast.

Voice

Song is melodious, with rapid trills and twitters.

Where and when it's recorded

Common Linnet has been recorded at 1,255 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 70 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom5,041 records
Lezíria Grande de Vila Franca de Xira – área geralPortugal3,335 records
Spurn Bird Observatory Recording AreaUnited Kingdom3,219 records

More places

Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom3,043 records
Beddington FarmlandsUnited Kingdom2,677 records
Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve, SSSI and LNRUnited Kingdom2,446 records
Teesside South GareUnited Kingdom2,304 records
East Tilbury River and MarshesUnited Kingdom2,234 records
PN Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina – CabranosaPortugal2,212 records
Bempton Cliffs RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom2,184 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Kingdom Spain Portugal Ireland Germany Sweden Czechia France

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

About

The common linnet or Eurasian linnet (Linaria cannabina) is a small passerine bird of the finch family, Fringillidae. It derives its common name and the scientific name, Linaria, from its fondness for hemp seeds and flax seeds—flax being the English name of the plant from which linen is made.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Common Linnet?

The Common Linnet is about ≈14 cm long, with a wingspan of 24 cm and weighs around 20 g.

Where does the Common Linnet live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: temperate to subtropical western, central Palearctic in open lowland woodland, fields (alpine meadows in southern): British Isles, southern Scandinavia east to Altay region (south-central Russia), northern Xinjiang (northwestern China) and far western Mongolia, in south to Madeira and Canary Islands (Macaronesia, west of northern Africa), Morocco to northern Libya, throughout Mediterranean to Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, western Jordan and western Syria, through Caucasus, northern, southern Iran, northern Afghanistan through eastern Kazakhstan. It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.

When is the best time to see the Common Linnet?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in April, May and October (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Common Linnet endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Common Linnet as Least Concern.

What does the Common Linnet eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Common Linnet in?

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

At a glance

Length: ≈14 cm
Wingspan: 24 cm
Weight: 20 g
Habitat: Shrubland
Diet: Seeds
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 78 mm
Tail: 56 mm
Bill: 12 mm
Tarsus: 16 mm

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

Range

Palearctic: temperate to subtropical western, central Palearctic in open lowland woodland, fields (alpine meadows in southern): British Isles, southern Scandinavia east to Altay region (south-central Russia), northern Xinjiang (northwestern China) and far western Mongolia, in south to Madeira and Canary Islands (Macaronesia, west of northern Africa), Morocco to northern Libya, throughout Mediterranean to Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, western Jordan and western Syria, through Caucasus, northern, southern Iran, northern Afghanistan through eastern Kazakhstan

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1