Linnets are farmland finches that have declined by 57% since 1970 as agricultural intensification removes the weed seed and invertebrate food they need for breeding and winter survival.
Linnets face a year-round welfare challenge in intensive agricultural landscapes where weed seed diversity and abundance has been dramatically reduced by herbicide use and loss of set-aside. In winter, flocks must locate sufficient seed food in a landscape with few suitable habitats, and subordinate birds face nutritional stress when preferred food patches are monopolised by dominant individuals. Cold spells that reduce available seed accelerate welfare decline in hungry birds already at the margins of energy balance.