American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis
Summary 4
The American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), , is a small finch that is yellow with a black cap and boldly colored black and white wings and white patches above and below the tail. Female American Goldfinches are duller yellow overall , and lack black on the head.
To hear examples of sounds of the American Goldfinch: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/sounds
Similar Species Lesser Goldfinch Are greenish on their backs with a black cap.
Habitat 5
American Goldfinches breed and forage in a variety of open habitats, including meadows, bushy fields, and urban and suburban yards and parks.
Life History 5
Nesting Females build the cup shaped nest in shrubs or small trees using small roots and other plant fibers. American Goldfinches are late season nesters as they wait until their primarily food sources have gone to seed.
Feeding American Goldfinches are seed eaters and eat a large variety of seeds from the sunflower family as well as seeds from grasses and trees.
Distribution 5
American Goldfinches are found throughout the United States an on the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
Migration 5
Ours are residents
Sources and Credits
- (c) Glen Peterson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/66353259@N00/232195571
- (c) Katja Schulz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4783616632_aa12a53f79_b.jpg
- (c) Flickr, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8017/7523421004_1485b63b91_b.jpg
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinus_tristis
- (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
