Common Chaffinch vs small tortoiseshell

Fringilla coelebs compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Common Chaffinch is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Chaffinch	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Fringillidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Fringilla	Aglais
Species	Fringilla coelebs	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Chaffinch and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common Chaffinch

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Chaffinch	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Chaffinch

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (5 countries), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand).

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Common Chaffinch

Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden