
Common bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)
Any of several species of stocky, stout-billed songbird (family Fringillidae). Eurasia has six species of the genus
Pyrrhula, all boldly marked. The common bullfinch (
P. pyrrhula), 6 in. (15 cm) long, is black and white; the male has a pinkish orange underside. It has a soft warbling call and is a popular cage bird. Usually found in evergreen groves and hedgerows, it is notorious for eating the buds of fruit trees. The trumpeter bullfinch (
Rhodopechys githaginea), of arid localities from the Canary Islands to India, is a pale bird with a blaring buzzy note.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.