Common Linnet
Linaria cannabina (Linnaeus, 1758)
Fringillidae — Finches, Euphonias
Common Linnet, Linaria cannabina, breeds across the temperate to subtropical western and central Palearctic, including the British Isles, southern Scandinavia, the Mediterranean, North Africa and parts of western Asia. It is a bird of open lowland woodland and fields, and in the south it also uses alpine meadows. The species is a slim finch with a long tail. In summer, the male shows a grey nape, a red patch on the head and a red breast, while females and young birds lack the red and have streaked buff on the breast. It makes short-distance movements outside the breeding season.
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae — Finches, Euphonias
- Breeding range
- Palearctic: temperate to subtropical w, c Palearctic in open lowland woodland, fields (alpine meadows in s): British Isles, s Scandinavia e to Altay region (sc Russia), n Xinjiang (nw China) and far w Mongolia, in s to Madeira and Canary Is. (Macaronesia, w of n Africa), Morocco to n Libya, throughout Mediterranean to Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, w Jordan and w Syria, through Caucasus, n, s Iran, n Afghanistan through e Kazakhstan
- Nonbreeding range
- short-distance movements
