Chaffinches are cheerful garden visitors that have been known to live for a remarkable 14 years. Males are recognisable for their pink cheeks and chest and blue-grey nape and crown; both sexes have distinctive white flashes on their wings.

During winter European chaffinches migrate to Britain. Curiously, it's typically the females that migrate as the males prefer to remain in northern Europe. These remaining lone males give rise to their Latin name "coelebs" meaning bachelor.

Chaffinches are one of the most common birds in Britain, with almost six million breeding pairs. Their distinctive, jangling songs vary from bird to bird, and there are even regional dialects in different parts of the UK.

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