A chaffinch is a small European bird. Male chaffinches have reddish-brown fronts and grey heads. a common small European bird. Songbird (Fringilla coelebs) that breeds in gardens and farmlands of Europe and northern Africa to central Asia (and, by introduction, South Africa). It is the most common finch in western Europe. The 6-in. (15-cm) male has a bluish crown, rust-brown back, greenish rump, and pinkish to rust face and breast; the female is greenish brown. The Canary Islands, or blue, chaffinch (F. teydea) is similar