European Greenfinch

European Greenfinch

Chloris chloris

Silhouette: Mathieu Pélissié · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Paris

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%

463 Verified sightings at Paris
10,119 In all 31 parks From 2019 to 2026
March 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 Paris?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Greenfinch sighting in Paris on a given day, based on 463 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 41st most-seen of the 139 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

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

February to April

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a European Greenfinch in Paris on a given day, against under 5% in August and September, the lowest months.

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 Paris the best place to see a European Greenfinch?

66th of 77

Of the 77 cities where we can rate European Greenfinch sightings, Paris ranks 66th at about 10%. 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 Paris?

Same family: Fringillidae

The closest relatives of the European Greenfinch that you can see in Paris (family Fringillidae, Finches, Euphonias, and Allies) are Chaffinch (about 50%) and Eurasian 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 Paris (463 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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