The species is found in towns and cities, parks, orchards and gardens. In the mountains of Kurdistan (including southeast Turkey) it is found in poplar (Populus) thickets, bramble (Rubus) clumps, tamarisk (Tamarix) groves and orchards.

In cooler parts of its range it generally breeds between March and October in more southerly areas it breeds all year round. It lays two eggs. The nest is a platform of twigs, stems and roots placed 2 m above ground in bushes, trees, tall hedges and man-made structures including pylons and buildings.

It mainly feeds on the ground taking seed, cereal grain, fruits of herbs and grasses and some green parts of plants. It will also take some invertebrates.

It is generally resident (Baptista et al. 2013).

Although the generation length for both EU and Europe regional assessments were calculated using the same methodology, new information arriving after the EU assessments were undertaken gave rise to an update in the generation lengths. This new information was then used for the Europe level assessments giving rise to a difference between the generation lengths used for the EU and Europe regions.

The species breeds across much of Europe, with major populations occurring in Romania, Turkey, Spain, France and Poland, as well as the United Kingdom, Greece and Portugal.

Conservation Actions Underway
EU Birds Directive Annex II. There are currently no known conservation measures for this species.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Currently no conservation measures are required for this species.