Their food supply is mostly seeds or buds of fruit trees, this made them a pest from orchard owners throughout England. For centuries every parish use to pay a bounty for every bullfinch killed. Ash and hawthorn are favoured in autumn and early winter.

Bullfinches have glossy black wings and tail feathers. They show a white rump. Their legs and feet are fleshy brown. Their short, swollen black bill is adapted to eat buds. The males can be distinguished by their rose-pink breast.

Bullfinches usually nest in shrubs or bushes, woodland, orchards or farmland. They usually will produce two or three broods per season.