Common Chaffinch
Song & Calls

Male Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Male Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)
Photo credit: Iskander Barrena Zubiaur / shutterstock.com

The Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a songbird found throughout Europe, the UK, parts of western Asia and coastal north Africa. It is an adaptable species and found in a range of habitats from woodlands to urban parks and gardens and is one of the commonest breeding bird species in the United Kingdom.

What does a chaffinch sound like? The cheery song & loud ‘pink’ calls of the Chaffinch are a familar sound throughout much of it’s distribution. The typical song of the male Chaffinch consists of a descending rattle of musical notes followed by accelerated ending. These strident songs are usually repeated from a prominent perch in a tree. The quieter ‘subsong’ is given by both sexes and is usually heard from birds on the ground or concealed in dense cover.

Chaffinches also make a range of other calls including short, sharp, “pink” or “chink” notes, soft ‘yuep’ flight calls and an upslurred ‘huet’ whistle. Interestingly, another call-type of this species, the so-called ‘rain-song’ or ‘rain-call’ is thought by some to indicate impending rainfall, although this is disputed.

Listen to Common Chaffinch Sounds

The audio in the video below features the ‘pink’ calls and typical song of male Common Chaffiches in the foreground, along with a variety of other species heard in the background including Short-toed Treecreeper, Crested Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Robin & Eurasian Wren. The common name for this species in Spanish is El Pinzón Vulgar. Recorded in Parque Natural de las Sierras de Cazorla in Andalucia, Spain.
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Common Chaffinch – Typical song and ‘pink’ calls


 XC309111 This first sample features the typical song of the Common Chaffinch, along with some ‘pink’ calls. This sample was recorded in the Serrania de Ronda, Andalucia, Spain.

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Common Chaffinch – Rain call


 XC309724 This is an example of the ‘rain call’ (or ‘rain song’) which some think is indicative that rain is coming. Recorded in Maldon District, UK.

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Common Chaffinch – Atypical calls


 XC412448 I’m not sure what the function of this call-type is. It was recorded in the Sierra de Cazorla, Andalucia, Spain.

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Common Chaffinch – ‘Pink’ calls


 XC308206 Typical ‘pink’ calls. Recorded in the Serrania de Ronda, Andalucia, Spain.