European Greenfinch

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

Silhouette: Mathieu Pélissié · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Los Angeles

In 3 days <5%

15 Verified sightings at Los Angeles
10,119 In all 31 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the European Greenfinch

The European greenfinch or simply the greenfinch (Chloris chloris) is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. This songbird is widespread throughout Europe, North Africa and Southwest Asia. It is mainly resident, but some of the populations from the far north migrate further south. The greenfinch has also been introduced into Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, and Argentina.

The greenfinch was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia chloris. The specific epithet is from khloris, the Ancient Greek name for this bird, from khloros, "green".

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2012 found that the greenfinches are not closely related to other species of the genus Carduelis. They have therefore been placed in the resurrected genus Chloris, which was originally been introduced by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800. The European greenfinch is the type species of this genus.

There are 10 recognised subspecies. The European greenfinch is 15 cm (5.9 in) long with a wingspan of 24.5 to 27.5 cm (9.6 to 10.8 in). It is similar in size and shape... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:47

Spain · 2026

© Jacobo Ramil Millarengo · XC1107554 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:21

Sweden · 2025

© Dag Österlund · XC1000084 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Alarm call0:10

France · 2025

© FREDERIC Lionel · XC979188 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Aoraki Mount Cook National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~60%
2 Gauja National Park 🇱🇻 Latvia
~40%
3 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~40%
4 Hortobágy National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~40%
5 Biebrza National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~40%
6 Plitvice Lakes National Park 🇭🇷 Croatia
~30%
7 Kiskunság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~30%
8 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
9 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
10 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~30%
11 Arthur's Pass National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~30%
12 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
13 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~30%
14 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~30%
15 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~30%
16 Egmont National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
17 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
18 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~20%
19 Abel Tasman National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
20 Fiordland National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~20%
21 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
22 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~20%
23 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
24 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~10%
25 Rakiura National Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand
~10%
26 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
27 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
28 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
29 Camargue 🇫🇷 France
~10%
30 Picos de Europa National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
31 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Amman 🇯🇴 Jordan
~90%
2 Jerusalem 🇮🇱 Israel
~80%
3 Ramallah 🇵🇸 Palestine
~70%
4 Beirut 🇱🇧 Lebanon
~60%
5 Tunis 🇹🇳 Tunisia
~50%
6 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~50%
7 Sofia 🇧🇬 Bulgaria
~50%
8 Nizhny Novgorod 🇷🇺 Russia
~50%
9 Antalya 🇹🇷 Turkey
~50%
10 Lisbon 🇵🇹 Portugal
~50%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Dierenpark Hoenderdaell 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity
2 NaturZoo Rheine 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
3 Penza Zoo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
4 Zoopark Limpopo 🇷🇺 Russia In captivity
5 AQUA Akvarium & Dyrepark 🇩🇰 Denmark In captivity
6 Bois du Petit-Château 🇨🇭 Switzerland In captivity
7 Kiwi Park 🇳🇿 New Zealand In captivity
8 Zoo Hirschstetten 🇦🇹 Austria In captivity
9 Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
10 Landgoed Hoenderdaell 🇳🇱 Netherlands In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a European Greenfinch in Los Angeles?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a European Greenfinch sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 392nd most-seen of the 426 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a European Greenfinch in Los Angeles?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a European Greenfinch in Los Angeles on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a European Greenfinch?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Greenfinch sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Los Angeles the best place to see a European Greenfinch?

77th of 77

Of the 77 cities where we can rate European Greenfinch sightings, Los Angeles ranks 77th at under 5%. The best odds are in Amman (Jordan, about 90%), Jerusalem (Israel, about 80%) and Ramallah (Palestine, about 70%).

Which relatives of the European Greenfinch live in Los Angeles?

Same family: Fringillidae

The closest relatives of the European Greenfinch that you can see in Los Angeles (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are House Finch (about 80%), Lesser Goldfinch (about 60%) and American Goldfinch (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the European Greenfinch sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the European Greenfinch is recorded against all the birds logged in Los Angeles (15 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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