During the summer months the diet of the brambling consists mainly of insects which it finds in tree bark or amongst leaf litter whilst ground foraging. In the winter, seeds, berries and nuts, form the mainstay of the bird’s diet. Its favourite food however, is beechmast which are brown nuts from the beech tree encased as pairs in a prickly outer casing and frequently they are the cause of the appearance of large flocks descending on areas where the nut is abundant.