Key facts
- Alternative name: Lintie (Shetland)
- Length: 14cm | Wingspan: 22 – 24cm | Weight: 13 – 18g
- When in the UK: Year-round
- UK Conservation Status: Red
- Species on the Edge areas: Shetland
Species information
How to identify
The twite is a small, brown finch closely related to the linnet, but with a longer tail and stubbier bill. Its back is tawny, heavily streaked with dark brown and is white below with dark-brown streaks on its flanks. The rump is pink on males but brown on females. Length: 14cm. Wingspan: 22-24cm
Habitat and feeding
Habitat
They nest on moorland, but in Northern Ireland and Scotland will also use coastal sites, where they favour crofts. They need cover in which to build their nest, as well as plenty of wildflowers to provide the seeds they eat and feed to their young. Twite often spend the winter on coastal saltmarshes, where they form flocks and sometimes join groups of linnets.
Feeding
Summer: Feed almost exclusively on the small seeds of wild plants, especially of native grasses
Winter: ‘Weed seeds’, especially charlock, are their main diet, in tattie and fodder rape crops
Distribution
In summer they are found in small numbers in the uplands of England and Wales, and coastal Northern Ireland. They are more widespread in Scotland, particularly on coastal crofts in the north and west. In winter, they are found on coastal marshes, with flocks often visiting the east coast of England. In winter, twite numbers are boosted by migrants from continental Europe.
Twite UK distribution map (c) RSPB https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/twite
Conservation status
- UK Conservation Status: Red
Threats
In Shetland, twites are threatened by loss of seed-rich feeding habitats through changes in farming practices. Their breeding areas are threatened by intensification of grassland management (re-seeding, overgrazing) in some areas and abandonment in others. Their wintering areas are threatened by loss of extensive arable cropping and inappropriate cutting regimes of flower-rich grasslands (roadside verges).
What Species on the Edge is doing
- Working with landowners to improve habitat for twite
- Carrying out surveys to better understand twite distribution on Shetland
- Planting seed bearing crops to provide food for twite over winter
Resources
If you want to know more about our work for twite, how to get involved, or how to manage your land for twite, get in touch with our Shetland team.
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