The Linnet is a member of the Finch Family and was once a very popular cage bird in the nineteenth century because of its melodious songs. Nowadays it can be found throughout England on gorse-covered commons, heathlands, rough grounds, coastal marshes, saltmarshes, farmland hedges and rural gardens.

The Linnet is a small slim bird with a long tail and a grey cone-shaped beak. The male is easily recognised by a crimson patch on its forehead and on either side of its breast. It also has a grey head and an unmarked chestnut-brown back. The female has a reddish-brown back with dark streaky markings. Both the male and female have greyish coloured faces and large black eyes.

Linnets are very nervous birds that quickly fly away when approached. They feed mainly on the ground and in low bushes and occasionally they feed from trees. Linnets eat chickweed seeds, dandelion seeds and in summer they may eat insects. They form flocks and sometimes they roost together in the evenings.