On Saturday, up by the Renbaan van Groenendaal, I saw my first Brambling of the winter. You’ll have to take my word for it because I couldn’t get my phone ready before it flew off with some cousins, the Chaffinch. They often feed together. They are closely related, but the Brambling is migratory.
Both are true finches — Fringilla in Latin simply means “finch.” Yet their species names tell very different stories. The Brambling’s montifringilla joins mons (mountain) with fringilla, the “mountain finch” of northern birch and spruce forests, where it spends its summers before heading for warmer climes, like Belgium. The Chaffinch’s coelebs, meaning “bachelor,” was given by Linnaeus after noticing that males often stayed behind in winter while females migrated south — a land of lonely bachelors until spring.
The English word Chaffinch comes from Old English ceaffinc, the “chaff bird,” because it fed among the chaff after threshing. The Brambling probably derives from Old Norse bráma, “the spotted one.” French Pinson and Dutch Vink both trace back to ancient European roots for small, seed-eating birds, while Keep, the Brambling’s Dutch name, echoes its sharp, nasal call.
In winter, these two cousins often share the same beech woods. The Chaffinch shows his rosy breast and blue-grey crown; the Brambling, his bright orange chest and white rump. Watch for them in the Forêt de Soignes — one stays through all seasons, the other arrives on the cold wind from the north.