American goldfinch Carduelis tristis

Identification Tips:

• Length: 4.25 inches
• Small, seed-eating bird
• Short, conical bill
• Short, forked tail

Male alternate:

• Plumage held in Spring and Summer
• Black forehead
• Yellow head, back, breast and belly
• Black wings and tail
• White wing bars and tertial edges
• White rump and undertail coverts
• Pale bill and legs

Female alternate:

• Greenish upperparts
• Yellow underparts
• Pale bill and legs

Basic:

• Plumage held in Fall and Winter
• Yellow face
• Brownish-olive upperparts
• Whitish underparts
• Blackish wings with pale wing bars

Smilar species:

The male American Goldfinch in alternate plumage is quite distinctive. Female Lesser Goldfinch is similar to female and immature American Goldfinch but is greener above and has a white patch in the wing.

Length and wingspan from: Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc.

Life History Groupings

Migration Status:Short distance migrant

Breeding Habitat:Successional-scrub

Nest Location:Mid-story/canopy nesting

Nest Type:Open-cup

Clutch Size:4-6

Length of Incubation: 10-12 days

Days to Fledge:11-17

Number of Broods:occasionally 2

Diet:

Primarily:

• Seeds

Lesser Quantities of:

• Insects

Author:
Gregory Gough
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods from: Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc.