Linnet (Carduelis cannabina)

This finch measures from 12.5-14 cm in total length. Sexual dimorphism is marked. The adult male is far more striking than the female and has a red breast and crown, a greyish head and brown back. The female is greyish-brown with a streaked breast and whitish belly. The bill is short and stubby, a feature of other members of the same family. In Macaronesia it is relegated to the island groups of Madeira (including Porto Santo) and the Canaries (all the islands). It has three subspecies: C. c. guentheri in Madeira, and C. c. meadewaldoi and C. c. harterti, in the Canaries. C. c. meadewaldoi and C. c. harterti are found in the central and western (El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria) and the eastern islands (Fuerteventura, Lobos, Lanzarote and La Graciosa), respectively. Vagrant birds have also been recorded on Alegranza and Montaña Clara (Canaries), and on São Miguel (Azores). It lives in open, relatively flat spaces of scrubland, dotted with trees, such as farmland at mid-altitude, pastures, in xerophytic vegetation bordering on cultivated land and also strongholds of fayal-brezal firetree and heath, although it rarely ascends above 1,400 m. It feeds mainly on grain and the seeds of numerous herbaceous plants, including cultivated species, such as cabbages. It has a predilection for feeding in open areas of annual plants and thistles. The breeding season extends from January to July, principally from March to May. The nest is cup-shaped and lined with dried grasses or matted fur, and is usually set low in different shrubs and trees; clutches are of 3-5 eggs. Outside of the breeding season linnets gather in large flocks (of up to 200 specimens, in the Canaries), often moving on to coastal areas where they are not usually present in spring. Linnets are rare on Madeira and Porto Santo, where distribution is also very scattered. In the Canaries, however, they are still common on several islands, despite the current trend of declining populations (e.g., in Tenerife and Gran Canaria). The main threats are habit alteration and loss, the use of chemical products on crops, predation by introduced mammals and roadkill.