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Description
A small finch with a short, conical bill and a
small head, long wings and a short, notched
tail. The American Goldfinch has a deeply
undulating flight.
In the summer, the male bird is yellow
with black wings, tail and forehead patch. The
female bird is dull yellow-olive, darker above
with blackish wings and conspicuous wing
bars.
In the winter, both sexes appear like the
female in the summer but are greyer in
color.
The State Bird
Of: Iowa and New
Jersey
Size: 5” (13 cm)
Voice: Song is
sustained, clear, light, and canarylike. In
flight, each dip is often punctuated by
ti-dee-di-di or per-chik-o-ree.
Distribution & Habitat
The American Goldfinch can be
found from Southern Canada to Southern United
States to Northern Mexico. The golfinch’s
natural habitat is in weedy fields and
floodplains, but they can also be found in
cultivated areas such as roadsides, orchards
and backyards.
Feeding Habits
The American Goldfinch’s diet is generally made
up of small seeds, especially thistle. Although
seeds generally dominate their diet, they do
eat some small insects, including aphids, in
the summer. They feed regurgitated seeds to
their young.
American Goldfinches can be found at
feeders any
time of the year but are found most
abundantly during the winter.
Breeding & Nesting
Habits
American Goldfinches breed later in the summer
than most songbirds. Their breeding is timed to
coincide with the peak abundance of thistle
seed. They often nest in loose colonies and the
nest is located in an upright fork of a shrub
or tree. American Goldfinches will also nest in
birdhouses customized to this species.
The female builds a tightly woven, compact cup
of plant fibers and spider webs and lines it
with thistle-down. The female incubates 4 to 6
eggs for 12 to 14 days. The male brings her
food while she incubates and broods the young
for the first few days after they hatch. After
hatching, both parents bring food to the young.
The young leave the nest after 12 to 17 days,
but the parents continue to feed the young for
a few weeks. American Goldfinches generally
raise one or two broods each year.
Range Map
Approximate range/distribution map of the
American (or Eastern) Goldfinch (Carduelis
tristis)
Yellow indicates the summer-only range, blue
indicates the winter-only range, and green
indicates the year-round range of the
species.
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