Greenfinch Call MP3s
The Greenfinch's wheezy, buzzing call and canary-like song carry well across hedgerows and gardens, making this recording handy for field ID or casual enjoyment.
Also known as
Recordings (4)
About this species
The Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) is a passerine songbird of around 15 cm — stocky and olive-green with bright yellow wing- and tail-edges and a heavy pale bill. It is common in gardens, hedgerows, parks and woodland edge.
Its lazy, wheezing 'dzweee' trill drifts from gardens and hedges all spring. It feeds on seeds, buds and berries, raiding garden feeders in hard weather. It bounds across gardens in a switchback flight, the male displaying in a slow, bat-like song-flight. Its voice is woven into the soundscape of the European countryside through spring and summer.
Legal use
The Greenfinch ranges across Europe, North Africa and southwestern Asia and is protected as a wild bird throughout virtually all of it, under the EU Birds Directive, the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act, and the Bern Convention; it is not a recognised quarry species under general hunting regulations. Malta has repeatedly authorised live-capture of Greenfinch alongside six other finch species under an autumn 'research' derogation, but the EU Court of Justice has twice found this unlawful (2018 and 2024) and the European Commission opened new infringement proceedings after Malta's 2025 reissue, so it remains a disputed, actively litigated exception rather than settled practice. Some Mediterranean countries have also seen illegal live-trapping of Greenfinches for the cage-bird trade outside any licensing framework; neither route reflects standard lawful hunting anywhere in its range. This recording is best suited to identification, birding, and personal listening; see our full country-by-country disclaimer for the legal position in your location.