Seeds: Its primary food; specialised in oil-rich and hard seeds - sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, rosehip seeds and thistle seeds are eaten avidly.
Berries and fruit pulp: In autumn and winter it takes rosehips, rowan berries and privet berries.
Insects: Taken in limited amounts during the breeding season, chiefly as food for the young.
Its powerful, conical bill makes the European Greenfinch one of the few garden birds that can crack whole sunflower seeds with ease. At the bird feeder it is often dominant and keeps smaller species at a distance.