Eurasian Linnet

Carduelis cannabina

(C. c. bella)

Armenian Name:	Կանեփնուկ

See Plate 56 for Eurasian Linnet and other similar species

Resident Status:	Year-round resident
Abundance:	Common
Length:	13.5 cm, Wing Span:21-25.5 cm
Distribution Map:	Map 321.
Description:	Grayish bill.
Adult:	Male has red patches on forehead and breast, pale gray head, and brown-orange back and upperwings. Female is browner, streaked overall, and lacks red patches.
Juvenile:	Orange-brown above, off-white below, with dark streaks on head, back, breast, and flanks.
Similar Species:	Twite.
Behavior:	Gregarious outside breeding season. In spring, males form large "dawn choruses"; in summer, they sing individually from top of bush.
Habitat:	Open scrubby slopes and river gorges up to subalpine zone; reedbeds and tree plantations in migration.
Food:	Seeds, small invertebrates.
Nest:	Cup of stems lined with feathers, wool, hair, and plant down in dense shrub.
Eggs:	18 mm, 4-6, pale blue, pink spots.