Twite

Linaria flavirostris (Linnaeus, 1758)

13–14 cmLength23 cmWingspan15 gWeight

This small brown finch has black markings, a bill that is yellow in winter and gray in summer, and a nasal “twaa-it” call.

Busiest months: October · Most records: United Kingdom, Norway, China

Looks like Common Linnet, Redpoll

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Upperparts brown with black markings
Conical bill, yellow in winter and gray in summer
No red head patch or red breast
Underparts yellowish-brown to white, with brown markings

Male, female and young

Adult male has a pink rump; immature birds and females have a brown rump.

Voice

A distinctive nasal “twaa-it”; song includes rapid trills and twitters.

Similar species

Common Linnet

Similar in size and shape, but Twite lacks a red head patch and red breast.

Redpoll

Twite lacks the red head patch and red breast of Redpoll.

Where and when it's recorded

Twite has been recorded at 387 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 36 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Fair IsleUnited Kingdom1,104 records
Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom353 records
Hel – CypelPoland239 records

More places

Druridge Pools NWT NR and Druridge LinksUnited Kingdom216 records
Aberlady Bay LNRUnited Kingdom209 records
Vardø – HornøyaNorway203 records
RøstlandetNorway190 records
Runde – uspesifisertNorway165 records
Falsterbonäset – NabbenSweden165 records
Sula – uspesifisertNorway157 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Kingdom Norway China Sweden Poland Denmark Mongolia Germany

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 twite (Linaria flavirostris) is a small brown passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is a partially migratory species that is found in a strongly disjunct distribution in northern Europe, and in Asian mountains from eastern Turkey to Nepal, western China and Mongolia. It mainly feeds on small seeds but occasionally also feeds on insects.

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

Questions

How big is the Twite?

The Twite is about 13–14 cm long, with a wingspan of 23 cm and weighs around 15 g.

Where does the Twite live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: low Arctic to temperate northwestern and montane central Palearctic in open areas: northern, central British Isles, western, northern Scandinavia; disjunctly Caucasus and south-central, northeastern Turkey east through south-central Russia, northern Kazakhstan, northern, western Xinjiang (northwestern China) and Mongolia, in southern northwestern Iran, central Afghanistan through Altai region, northwestern Himalayas east to Nepal and Tibet to Qinghai and Gansu (north-central China). It is most often recorded in United Kingdom, Norway and China.

When is the best time to see the Twite?

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

Is the Twite endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Twite as Least Concern.

What does the Twite eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Twite in?

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

At a glance

Length: 13–14 cm
Wingspan: 23 cm
Weight: 15 g
Habitat: Grassland
Diet: Seeds
Lifestyle: Perches in trees
Migration: Migratory
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 76 mm
Tail: 65 mm
Bill: 9 mm
Tarsus: 15 mm

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

Range

Palearctic: low Arctic to temperate northwestern and montane central Palearctic in open areas: northern, central British Isles, western, northern Scandinavia; disjunctly Caucasus and south-central, northeastern Turkey east through south-central Russia, northern Kazakhstan, northern, western Xinjiang (northwestern China) and Mongolia, in southern northwestern Iran, central Afghanistan through Altai region, northwestern Himalayas east to Nepal and Tibet to Qinghai and Gansu (north-central China)

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 4

Linaria flavirostris korejevi ne Kazakhstan to nw China | non-breeding: to c Afghanistan
Linaria flavirostris montanella Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, n Afghanistan and nw Pakistan to nw China
Linaria flavirostris miniakensis e Tibet and w China
Linaria flavirostris rufostrigata w, s Tibet, n India and n Nepal