Shilfie

Shilfie
Male Birdsong
Female - Baith at Otmoor, Oxfordshire
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kinrick:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Cless:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Faimily:	Fringillidae
Subfaimily:	Fringillinae
Genus:	Fringilla
Species:	F. coelebs
Binomial name
Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758
Simmer      Resident      Winter      Introduced      canariensis      spodiogenys

The shilfie (Fringilla coelebs), is a common an widespread smaa passerine bird in the finch faimily. The male is brichtly coloured wi a blae cap an roust-reid unnerpairts. The female is much duller in colouring, but baith sexes hae twa contrastin white weeng baurs an white sides tae the tail. The male bird haes a strang vyce an sangs frae exponed perches tae attract a mate.

The shilfie breeds in muckle o Europe, athort Asie tae Siberie an in northwast Africae. The female bigs a nest wi a deep cup in the bucht o a tree. The clatch is teepically fower or five eggs, that hatch in aboot 13 days. The chicks fledge in aroond 14 days, but are fed bi baith adults for several weeks after leavin the nest. Ootside the breedin saison, shilfies form flocks in appen kintraside an forage for seeds on the grund. In the breedin season, thay forage on trees for invertebrates, espeicially caterpeelars, an feed thir tae thair young. Thay are pairtial migrants; birds breedin in wairmer regions are sedentar, while thae breedin in the caulder northren auries o thair range winter forder sooth.

The eggs an nestlins o the shilfie are taken bi a variety o mammalian an avian predators. Its lairge nummers an huge range mean that shilfies are clessed as o least concern bi the Internaitional Union for Conservation o Naitur.