Home › All birds › Common linnet

The Common linnet (Linaria cannabina) is a bird found in Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Denmark, and 3 more countries. Heaths, hedges and farmland across Europe. It eats seeds and nuts, insects and other small invertebrates and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Common linnet lives

Heaths, hedges and farmland across Europe.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🌰 Seeds & nuts60%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs20%
• 🍎 Fruit20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Common linnet

Recorded by Mats Olsson (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1186993. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common linnet

Where does the Common linnet live?

The Common linnet lives in Spain, United Kingdom, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Denmark, and 3 more countries. Heaths, hedges and farmland across Europe.

What does the Common linnet eat?

seeds and nuts (about 60%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%), fruit (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common linnet endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

• Yellow-legged gull
• Crested lark
• Marsh tit
• Red-breasted merganser
• Hawfinch
• Ruff

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.