American Goldfinch - Bird of the Month - September

This month I want to highlight the delightful American Gold finch. They are a frequent visitor to wild bird feeders and garden birdbaths.

Bradford Torrey (1885) describes the happy goldfinch this way: "Our American goldfinch is the loveliest of birds. With his elegant song, and his more beautiful soul, he ought to be one of the best beloved, if not one of the most famous; but he has never yet had half his desserts. He is like the chickadee, and yet different. He is not so extremely confiding, nor should I call him merry. But he is always cheerful, in spite of his so-called plaintive note, from which he gets one of his names, and always amiable. So far as I know, he never utters a harsh sound; even the young ones, asking for food, use only smooth, musical tones. During the pairing season his delight often becomes rapturous. To see him then, hovering and singing--or, better still, to see the devoted pair hovering together, billing and singing--is enough to do even a cynic good."

The state bird of New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington

Size and Shape:

• A small finch with a body 5-9 inches and weight of 0.5 oz.
• a small cone-shaped bill
• long tapered wings with a wingspan range of 8.75-9 inches
• short, notched tail

Colors:

• Adult males in spring/summer have a bright yellow body, black cap, wings & tail, and white rump and undertail.
• Females and winter males have duller feathers that are an olive-yellow color. The male's black cap may disappear in the winter or turn a dull black. Adult females have not black cap.
• Juvenile birds are a wood-brown, grayer on crown, yellowish on forehead. Sides of head are primrose-yellow brightest on chin.

Behavior:

• active little bird with untiring activity
• acrobatic- clinging to weeds and seed socks
• seeks the company of its own species
• moves about in large flocks, feeding together in the birches and alders
• flies in a bouncy pattern as if riding the waves of a stormy sea

Habitat:

• natural habitats are weedy fields and floodplains, with plants such as thistles and asters as well as cultivated land, orchards and gardens.
• can be found at wild bird feeders any time of year, but most abundantly during winter.
• 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. Some populations are short-distance migrators and move south in the winter.

Feeding:

• feeds primarily on seeds; prefers hanging onto seed heads rather than feeding on the ground. Its long legs and claws help it easily perch on plants.
• like seeds of grey birch, alder, thistle, sunflower, evening primrose, ragweed, and above all, perhaps, the dandelion.
• At feeders prefers nyjer, suet, millet, thistle, fruit & sunflower(hulled)
• feeds during the day

Nesting:

• do not nest until mid-to late summer when there are lots of seeds
• will not use man made nesting boxes
• open cup of rootlets and plant fibers lined with plant down, often woven so tightly that it can hold water
• makes a downy lining often using the fluffy material taken from the same types of seedheads that goldfinches feed on.
• takes about 6 days to build the nest
• clutch size: 4-6 pale blue to white blue eggs, incubation period 12-14 days. Males feed female throughout incubation.
• they open their eyes after about seven days, nestling period 11–17 days.
• are monogamous and because they mate so late in the year, they normally raise only one brood a year

Interesting Facts:

• American Goldfinches are the only finch that molts its body feathers twice a year, once in late winter and again in late summer just before breeding season.
• they breed later than most North American birds starting in late June or early July.
• they select an entirely vegetable diet and only inadvertently swallow an occasional insect.
• As of May 2007, the oldest known American Goldfinch was 10 years 5 months old.
• Paired-up goldfinches make virtually identical flight calls.
• winter flocks, have little difference in plumage leading to conclusion that the sexes are segregated, at least for the most part at this season.

Sources for this posting: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, NatureWorks, WhatBird.com & Life Histories of North American Birds

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Other postings that may be of interest:
Tufted Titmouse- August Bird of the Month
Squirrel Buster tips you need to know
Choosing a Birdfeeder for Your Backyard
Put your Birdhouse this Fall , Don't wait till the Spring!!