Key information
Serins are small finches with short stubby bills and forked tails. Both sexes have streaky yellow brown upper parts, paler streaked under parts and lemon yellow rumps. Males have bright yellow heads with darker patches on the crown and below the eye, females and juveniles are much duller. They have been recorded annually in the UK in small numbers since the 1960s and have bred sporadically since the 1970s (Devon, Dorset, Sussex, East Anglia and the Jersey) but no more than one or two pairs a year.
What they eat:
Seeds, buds and small invertebrates.
Measurements:
- Length:
- 11-12cm
- Wingspan:
- 18-20cm
- Weight:
- 12-15g
Population:
- UK breeding:
- 1-2 pairs annually (average)
- UK passage:
- 66