Chaffinches are the commonest and most widespread of New Zealand’s introduced finches, and are found in a wide range of habitats from sea-level to 1400 m. They are self-introduced to many off-shore islands. Chaffinches frequently visit suburban gardens, especially in winter, and are often seen feeding with house sparrows and silvereyes around bird-tables, on lawns and in parks. The sexes may segregate into separate flocks in winter, especially males; hence the specific name of coelebs (bachelor).

Identification

Male chaffinches are similar in size to a house sparrow, with the females being a little smaller. They are sexually dimorphic; males are brightly coloured in spring and summer with brick-red breasts and chestnut mantles. The crown and nape are greyish-blue and the wings are black with a prominent white wing-bar and shoulder patch. During winter, the colours are duller due to the presence of buff tips to the feathers which wear off by early spring. Females are dull brownish-grey, but with similar wing markings as the males. Both sexes have white in the outer tail-feathers which is conspicuous in flight.

Voice: the call is a familiar ‘chink chink’, uttered by both sexes throughout the year. The male has a short rattling song, frequently repeated, during the breeding season.

Similar species: males are not readily confused with any other species, but the female can be mistaken for a female house sparrow. However, the female chaffinch is slimmer, lacks dark streaks on the upper surface and has prominent white wing markings.

Distribution and habitat

Chaffinches are widespread throughout the New Zealand mainland and on the Chatham Islands, and are resident on Stewart Island and also the Snares, Auckland and Campbell Islands. Recorded as a vagrant on Norfolk, Lord Howe, Kermadec and Antipodes Islands.

The natural range of the chaffinch is Europe, western and central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. It also inhabits islands in the north Atlantic. It was also successfully introduced to South Africa.

Chaffinches occupy a wide range of habitats from sea-level to 1400 m, wherever there are trees or scrub. They inhabit pine and other exotic forests, indigenous forests and sub-alpine scrub, and are common in gardens, parks, orchards and farmland with shelterbelts and hedgerows.

Population

The chaffinch was slow to become established in New Zealand, but is now abundant throughout the country.

Ecological and economic impacts

Chaffinches are not generally considered to be an important agricultural pest, although they have been known to cause minor damage to fruit buds and newly-sown crops. Impacts on native species have not been reported.

Breeding

Chaffinches are territorial and monogamous during the breeding season, which lasts from September to February. Males establish a territory and commence singing in late July or early August. Females visit the territory with increasing frequency and one eventually forms a pair bond with the resident male. However, the female may leave the territory during nest-building and mate with other males in territories nearby. The male’s courtship display consists of a headlong chase during which it appears that he is attacking his mate. He also presents himself to the female in a lop-sided posture with his head feathers raised. The female constructs a neat cup-shaped nest of fine grass, wool and moss camouflaged with lichen on the outside, and lined with feathers and hair. This is located in a tree or shrub 1-18 m above the ground. She incubates alone for 11-15 days, and when the chicks hatch they are fed invertebrates by both parents. The chicks continue to be fed for about 3 weeks after fledging. Chaffinches are normally single-brooded, but occasionally raise a second clutch.

Behaviour and ecology

Chaffinches form flocks of varying size outside the breeding season, often with other species of finches and buntings, especially at a good food source e.g. weeds growing amongst crops. They may also form mixed flocks with native species such as fantails and silvereyes in indigenous forests in autumn. Chaffinches usually feed on seeds on the ground, but also in trees such as pines and native beeches. Insects are located by searching the branches and foliage of trees and shrubs, or are taken from the ground. Chaffinches also catch insects by hawking, especially around rivers and streams.

Some seasonal movement has been reported. Birds from higher altitudes move to lower elevations in autumn, and birds from indigenous forests winter on farmland. Birds from the South Island appear in the southern North Island in varying numbers yearly from April to July. This has not been confirmed by banding recoveries, but these birds can be identified by their different dialect. The normal contact call of chaffinches from the North Island (and also British birds) could be rendered as “chink chink’, whereas that of the South Island bird sounds more like ‘chek chek’.

Food

Chaffinches feed predominantly on seeds in winter. A wide range of seeds are taken, including tree seeds such as those of beeches, Pinus radiata, and rimu. Flax seeds are taken directly from heads, or collected on the ground. Other seeds taken from on or near the ground include cereals, fat hen, chickweed, Amaranthus, dandelion and thistle. Chicks are fed almost entirely on invertebrates both before and after fledging, and a large proportion of the adult diet also consists of invertebrates during the breeding season. Invertebrates taken include bugs, flies, beetles, moths, caterpillars, aphids, cicadas and spiders.

Weblinks

BirdLife factsheet

Wikipedia

http://www.nzbirds.com/birds/chaffinch.html

References

Dean, S. 1990. Composition and seasonality of mixed species flocks of insectivorous birds. Notornis 37: 27-36.

Heather, B.D.; Robertson, H.A. 1996. The field guide to the birds of New Zealand. Viking, Auckland.

Higgins,P.J.; Peter, J.M.; Cowling, S.J. (eds.) 2006. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 7, boatbill to starlings. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.

Recommended citation

Angus, D.J. 2013 [updated 2022]. Chaffinch | Pahirini. In Miskelly, C.M. (ed.) New Zealand Birds Online. www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz