![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Its winter range is from southern Canada south to Florida and central Mexico. Its summer range is from southern Canada to Colorado, and east to the Carolinas. tristis) is the most common of the subspecies. There are four recognized subspecies of the American goldfinch: Carduelis is derived from carduus, the Latin word for ' thistle' the species name tristis is Latin for 'sorrowful'. Although it shares a name with the European goldfinch, the two are in separate genera and are not closely related. Its closest relatives are the lesser goldfinch ( S. Recent studies have resurrected the genus Spinus. ![]() In 1976, Spinus was merged into the genus Carduelis as a subgenus. It was later placed in the genus Spinus, a group containing New World goldfinches and siskins. The American goldfinch was one of the many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his work, Systema Naturae, where he classified it in the genus Fringilla. Deforestation also creates open meadow areas, which are its preferred habitat. It is often found in residential areas, attracted to bird feeders which increase its survival rate in these areas. Human activity has generally benefited the American goldfinch. This species is generally monogamous and produces one brood each year. Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. It may behave territorially during nest construction, but this aggression is short-lived. It is a social bird and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. The American goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. The only finch in its subfamily to undergo a complete molt, the American goldfinch displays sexual dichromatism: the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. It is migratory, ranging from mid- Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter. The American goldfinch ( Spinus tristis) is a small North American bird in the finch family. Astragalinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758).Ring-recoveries suggest that during the autumn many Goldfinches in Britain migrate south, some reaching Continental Europe and Iberia.įind out more about Goldfinches on BirdFacts and the Wider Countryside Report. The cup of the nest is quite deep relative to its width. This is usually positioned some way off the ground, though may be positioned in hedges and evergreens. The nest itself is neatly constructed from grasses, moss, roots and lichens, interwoven with wool and hair. Goldfinches appear to nest in areas with scattered trees and shrubs (including gardens) where they often adopt the loose colony structure seen in other cardueline finches. Goldfinches have increased their use of gardens quite dramatically over recent decades, exploiting new foods like Nyjer seed and Sunflower hearts. This distribution appears to reflect the distribution of its favoured food species, since the Goldfinch specialises on seeds of the family Compositae (groundsels, ragworts, dandelions & thistles). Widespread persecution up until the 1930s almost certainly kept the population below what it could achieve. The Goldfinch population has spread northwards within Britain and the species is now absent only from open mountains and moorland (it prefers low ground). Both are liquid in nature, with a real fluidity to the constantly uttered ‘tswitt-witt-witt'. Goldfinch calls are a beautiful series of notes and an equally wonderful song. In size, the Goldfinch is smaller than a Greenfinch, delicate in appearance with a noticeably pointed bill. In adult birds, the striking head pattern of red, white and black is equally characteristic (in juveniles, this is absent). The black wings, with their broad band of bright yellow, and the black tail with its white terminal spots, are distinctive in all ages of Goldfinch (the sexes are alike, or nearly so). ![]()
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