🦉 The brambling (Fringilla montifringilla)
- Fringilla (lat.) Finch; fi nco (old German)
- montifringilla lat .: mōns, montis mountain, mountain range
These birds, upon closer inspection, are very similar to Chaffinch. And it is not surprising, because they are close relatives. Males have contrasting colors, a black head and a bright orange color near the neck. Females are painted in faded, nondescript colors, with a gray head.
They arrive early, when there are still patches of snow in the forest, but when they fly away... It's interesting here. They don't fly away, but rather "migrate": in winter their flocks can be found, but only in the European part of the country, where the winters are actually warm.
I took these photos in a pine forest. In the first photo, a teenager is eating pebbles. This is so that solid food (and these birds are granivorous) is ground in the muscular stomach, a kind of analogue of teeth.
| Camera | Lens |
|---|---|
| Nikon D5200 | Tamron SP AF 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD |