What they like

Messy edges. Hedges, scrub, herb-rich dikes and field margins. A garden you don't keep clipped tight. Plant hawthorn, blackthorn, privet and dog-rose for cover. Leave a corner with thistles and nettles. Put up a few sunflowers and let the seedheads hang into winter.

Ecological importance

A seed-eater with taste: seeds of dandelion, plantain, sorrel, thistles and fat-hen. In the breeding season also insects for the chicks. The linnet is prey for the sparrowhawk and sometimes the house cat—so give it dense shrubs to dive into.

When in the Netherlands

Possible all year round. 'Our' linnets migrate in autumn to Spain and Morocco; in winter there are extra arrivals from Northern and Eastern Europe.

Status

A breeding bird that declined sharply because of cleaner, tidier landscapes. In the Netherlands a vulnerable species. More rough growth, more seeds, more linnets.