European goldfinches in the Orlické Mountains, Czech Republic
Sporting a splash of red on its face and flashes of yellow along its wings, the European goldfinch stands out from the rest of the avian crowd. It might not come as a surprise to know that the collective noun for these birds is a 'charm', which describes their delightful twittering song. As well as its good looks, another notable feature of the goldfinch is its sharp-pointed beak, which allows this species to extract seeds from teasels. The goldfinches braving the cold in our photo were snapped in the Czech Republic, but many goldfinches will migrate as far south as Spain to enjoy a bit of winter sun