The European Greenfinch is a partial migrant with great individual variation.
Northern birds: move south and west in autumn as the seed supply dwindles.
Southern birds: are often resident all year round.
Roaming behaviour: in winter the species is partly nomadic and follows the availability of seeds and berries.
In some winters the European Greenfinch appears in greater numbers in the south when northern birds have moved down, while in other years it is scarce - a shifting pattern governed mainly by the seed supply.