American Goldfinch

Carduelis tristisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Finches (Fringillidae)

Codes: Common Name: AMGO Scientific Name: CARTRI ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179236

American Goldfinch: The breeding male American Goldfinch has a bright yellow body, black cap, wings, and tail, and a white rump and undertail coverts. The wings have flashy white patches. Bill is pink and conical.

American Goldfinch Variations

Winter Male
American Goldfinch

Female
American Goldfinch

Breeding Male
American Goldfinch

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

American Goldfinch: Small, noisy finch. Male has a bright yellow body, black cap, wings, and tail, and white rump and undertail coverts. Wings have flashy white patches and bright yellow shoulder bar. Bill is conical. Undulating flight, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

Range and Habitat

American Goldfinch: Breeds from southern British Columbia east to Newfoundland and south to California, Utah, southern Colorado, central Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the Carolinas. Spends winters throughout much of U.S.; prefers brushy thickets, weedy grasslands, and nearby trees.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"per-chick-oree"

Interesting Facts

The American Goldfinch changes from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of its body feathers. It is the only member of its family to have this second molt in the spring; all the other species have just one molt each year in the fall.

They are one of the latest nesting birds, starting in late June or early July, when most other songbirds are finishing with breeding. Their late timing may be related to the availability of suitable nesting materials and seeds for feeding young.

Brown-headed Cowbirds may lay an egg in a Goldfinch nest, but the hatchling will usually die because the seed-based diet that the parents provide cannot support it.

A group of goldfinches has many collective nouns, including a " 007", "charm", "rush", "treasury", and "vein" of goldfinches.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

American Goldfinch

● Song: "per-chick-oree"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Goldfinch: Feeds primarily on seeds; prefers hanging onto seed heads rather than feeding on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: American Goldfinch: Four to six pale blue to white blue eggs are laid in a well-made cup of grass, bark strips, and plant down, and built in a small sapling or shrub. Incubation typically ranges from 10 to 12 days and is carried out by the female; male feeds her on the nest.

● Similar species: American Goldfinch: Yellow Warbler lacks black wings and tail. Lesser Goldfinch has yellow undertail coverts.

Flight Pattern

Undulating flight., Several rapid wing beats and then a pause.

● Range & Habitat: American Goldfinch: Breeds from southern British Columbia east to Newfoundland and south to California, Utah, southern Colorado, central Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the Carolinas. Spends winters throughout much of U.S.; prefers brushy thickets, weedy grasslands, and nearby trees.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationDeclining slightly

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.5 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Undertail coverts

Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.

Cap

The area on top of the head of the bird.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

Shoulder

The short feathers overlying the median secondary coverts on the top of the wing. They are located near the back and can be seen as the “first row” of feathers on the birds wing. They are also called marginal coverts and lesser secondary coverts.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch Variations

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips

Overview

Range and Habitat

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

Interesting Facts

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Related Birds

American Goldfinch

Flight Pattern