Linnet  (Carduelis cannabina)

Other farmland bird species that depend on the same diet have declined drastically at the same time as the linnet in both numbers and range. Linnets are more dependent on wildflower seeds than other seed-eaters during the breeding season, as chicks are fed exclusively on seeds rather than insects. The main cause of the linnet decline is thought to be changes in agricultural practices, including the use of herbicides and fertilisers, the reduction in farm diversity caused by intensification and farm specialisation, and the sowing of crops in the autumn rather than the spring, which results in the loss of winter stubbles, valuable sources of food for the linnet. In addition, suitable nesting habitat has been lost as a result of hedge, scrub and thicket removal, over-zealous hedge trimming and over-grazing. However, recent research suggests that linnets in some areas have begun feeding on the seeds of oilseed rape, which may help to stem the decline in future (2).

This species was not given a high conservation priority until recently, so there have been little conservation measures targeted at the linnet. However, it is likely to have benefited from conservation measures aimed at other species such as the protection and management of gorse thickets on heathland for the Dartford warbler Sylvia undata. Agri-environment schemes, such as the new Arable Stewardship Scheme, encourage agricultural techniques that benefit farmland wildlife by paying subsidies to farmers involved in the scheme. For example, the sowing of spring cereal crops and retention of winter stubbles will benefit the linnet. The linnet is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species; the plan aims to halt the current trend of decline by 2003 and bring about a sustained recovery of the UK range to 1968-72 figures by 2008 (4).