The American Goldfinch is easily detected in the spring or summer as a flash of yellow, flying with an undulating motion and calling perchicoree, perchicoree. The female has an olive rump instead of a pale one. In summer the adult male is black or olive above, rather than yellow, and he retains the black cap all year. It is slightly smaller than the American Goldfinch, measuring about 10 cm in length. The male’s lesser coverts-the feathers covering the shoulders-are yellow.ĭuring their first autumn and winter the juveniles are wood brown above with buffy, rather than white, wing markings and dull black shoulders, which distinguish them from the adults.Ī bird similar in appearance to the American Goldfinch, the Lesser Goldfinch Carduelis psaltria, is occasionally seen in British Columbia. The face and neck are a pale yellow, only a hint of the bright yellow of summer. Their wings are black with white wing bars, and the black tail is etched with white. They are buff-coloured below and olive brown above. The summer female is olive yellow, with a bib of yellow on her neck and breast.Īfter a complete moult in the fall, the birds grow plumage that is almost identical in colour for both sexes. In flight, a white rump contrasts with the black tail. The male assumes brilliant canary yellow plumage and a striking jet black cap. In spring the birds moult, or shed, all but their black wing and tail feathers, and the bills of both sexes turn orange. The goldfinch averages 11 cm in length, much the same size as the English Sparrow, and weighs about 11 g. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.With its short, heavy, conical beak, the American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis is typical of North American seed-eating birds that are members of the finch ( Fringillidae) family. The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, USA. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966–2019. Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2020. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. American Goldfinch ( Spinus tristis), version 2.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory 2020. Longevity records of North American birds. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 44 million and rates them 6 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score, indicating a species of low conservation concern. Back to top ConservationĪmerican Goldfinches are common, but their numbers decreased by an estimated 0.6% per year between 19 for a cumulative decline of 27%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Goldfinches do not join other songbirds mobbing predators. Although males sing exuberantly during spring, pairs do not nest until mid-summer, when thistles and other weeds have gone to seed. ![]() They have a bouncy flight during which they frequently make their po-ta-to-chip calls. Pale bluish white, sometimes with small faint brown spots around large end.Īmerican Goldfinches are active, acrobatic finches that balance on the seedheads of thistles, dandelions, and other plants to pluck seeds. The finished nest is about 3 inches across on the outside and 2-4.5 inches high. It takes the female about 6 days to build the nest. The female lashes the foundation to supporting branches using spider silk, and makes a downy lining often using the fluffy “pappus” material taken from the same types of seedheads that goldfinches so commonly feed on. The nest is an open cup of rootlets and plant fibers lined with plant down, often woven so tightly that it can hold water. The nest is often built high in a shrub, where two or three vertical branches join usually shaded by clusters of leaves or needles from above, but often open and visible from below. The female builds the nest, usually in a shrub or sapling in a fairly open setting rather than in forest interior. Male and female move around together to choose a suitable nest site. Main types include seeds from composite plants (in the family Asteraceae: sunflowers, thistle, asters, etc.), grasses, and trees such as alder, birch, western red cedar, and elm. Goldfinches eat seeds almost exclusively. ![]() Goldfinches are also common in suburbs, parks, and backyards. Weedy fields, open floodplains, and other overgrown areas, particularly with sunflower, aster, and thistle plants for food and some shrubs and trees for nesting.
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