linnet

Small seed-eating bird belonging to the finch family, which is very abundant in Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. The male has a chestnut back with a pink breast and grey head, and a red breast and forehead during the breeding season; the female is mainly a dull brown. The linnet measures barely 13 cm/5 in in length, begins to breed in April, and generally chooses low-lying bush for its home. The eggs, ranging from four to six in number, are a delicate pale blue streaked with a purplish brown. (Species Acanthis cannabina, family Fringillidae, order Passeriformes.)