Lesser Goldfinch
Spinus psaltria
Summary 3
The Lesser Goldfinch or (Spinus psaltria) is a very small songbird with a short bill and short notched tail. The males are black or green on their backs and black cap and are bright yellow underneath. They have white spots on their wings and white corners on their tails. Females are more olive colored on their backs and are duller yellow below.
To hear sounds of the Lesser Goldfinch: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Lesser_Goldfinch/sounds
Similar SpeciesAmerican Goldfinch Are yellow on their backs and fronts and have bold black and white patterns on their wings.
Where on Campus? 4
Lesser Goldfinches can be seen in the weedier, grassy parts of campus, such as the parking lots, but also occur in the trees in the center of campus.
Habitat 4
Open habitats with thickets, woodlands and scrublands. They also can be found in parks and gardens.
Life History 4
Nesting Females build the nest of plant materials including leaves, and bark as well as the silk from spiderwebs and cocoons. Young are altricial.
Feeding Lesser Goldfinches primarily eat seeds from the sunflower family but will also eat fruits from some other trees including coffeeberry, madrone and elderberry and buds on a variety of trees.
Distribution 5
Lesser Goldfinches are found in the Western US and into Northern Mexico and parts of South America.
Migration 4
Ours are residents.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Pablo Leautaud, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2613/3935592194_f577cd7827.jpg
- (c) JanetandPhil, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/dharma_for_one/4801908907/
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinus_psaltria
- (c) gillian360, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
- Adapted by gillian360 from a work by (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28945840
