Interesting Facts
- The American Goldfinch is one of the latest songbirds to begin nesting during the breeding season .
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
American Goldfinch, Beet-Bird, Black-Winged Yellow Bird, California Goldfinch, Catnip-Bird, Common Goldfinch, Eastern Goldfinch, Lettuce Bird, Lettuce-Bird, Northwestern Goldfinch, Pale Goldfinch, Salad-Bird, Shiner, Thistle Bird, Thistle-Bird, Western Goldfinch, Wild Canary, Willow Goldfinch, Yellow Goldfinch, Yellow-Bird, Yellowbird
Common Names in French:
Chardonneret Jaune
Common Names in German:
Goldzeisig
Common Names in Japanese:
オウゴンヒワ
Common Names in Spanish:
Jilguero Canario
Description
Physical Description
Adult Summer Female: Body: Underparts: pale yellow Upperparts: olive.Adult Summer Male: Head : Cap: black Body: Back: bright yellow Tail: black.
Size/Age/Growth
A small finch, 13 cm (5 in) from tip of bill to tip of tail, with a wingspan of 8.75 to 9 inches. Adults weigh about 0.5 ounces .
Habitat
Vegetation: arid lowland scrubs, second-growth scrub, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands, gallery forests • Maximum Elevation: 1,800 meters • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low
Ecology: List of Habitats : 1.4 Forest - Temperate
Biology
Diet
Primarily: Seeds. Lesser Quantities of: Insects
Reproduction
The short breeding season
begins in July and lasts until mid-September. Breeding habitat
is typically weedy fields
with shrubs
, but the Goldfinch will sometimes nest
in open woodlands. The female builds a cup-shaped nest
less than 1-10 m
(1-30 ft
) above ground
in a shrubby plant or coniferous
tree
. The female lays
4 - 6 pale
blue eggs
, which she incubates for 12-14 days. The male feeds
the female on the nest. When the eggs hatch
, the female feeds the young regurgitated seeds. Nestlings are altricial and fledge
after about 15 days. The parents continue to feed the begging fledglings
for up to 3 more weeks. Some females are sequentially polyandrous
. After the first brood hatches, the female leaves the brood in care of their father and finds another male for a second nesting attempt.
- 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
Migration
Migratory
Behavior
During the winter, the American Goldfinch migrates. This species often forms large foraging flocks, sometimes with other species, including Chickadees, siskins, and other finches. Preferred foraging areas include weedy and cultivated fields , orchards, and flood plains . The Goldfinch forages mainly on seeds of thistle and other many-seeded flowers, grasses, and deciduous trees . Predators include snakes , birds, cats, and squirrels. The Brown-headed Cowbird sometimes lays one egg in the Goldfinch nest , which reduces Goldfinch clutch size. Although the Cowbird egg usually hatches, the Cowbird nestling usually does not survive, probably because it is not well suited for the diet of seeds.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
)
- animals
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
)
- Chordates
- Class:
Aves
(
)
- Birds
- Order:
Passeriformes
(
)
- Perching Birds
- Subfamily:
Fringillinae
(
)
- Tribe:
Carduelini
(
)
- Genus:
Carduelis
(
)
- Brisson 1760 Orn. 1 p.36; 3 p.53
- Specific name:
tristis
- (Linnaeus) 1758 Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.181
- Scientific name: - Carduelis tristis (Linnaeus) 1758
- Specific name:
tristis
- (Linnaeus) 1758 Syst.Nat.ed.10 p.181
- Genus:
Carduelis
(
- Tribe:
Carduelini
(
- Subfamily:
Fringillinae
(
- Order:
Passeriformes
(
- Class:
Aves
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.
Similar Species
Yellow Warbler, Lesser Goldfinch
Members of the genus Carduelis
There are approximately 140 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:
C. ambigua (Black-Headed Greenfinch) · C. ambigua ambigua (Black-Headed Greenfinch) · C. atrata (Black Siskin) · C. atriceps (Black-Capped Siskin) · C. barbata (Black-Chinned Siskin) · C. barbatus · C. cabaret · C. caniceps · C. cannabina (Eurasian Linnet) · C. cannabina autochthona · C. cannabina bella · C. cannabina cannabina (Eurasian Linnet) · C. cannabina harterti · C. cannabina meadewaldoi · C. cannabina mediterranea · C. cannabina x · C. carduelis (Eurasian Goldfinch) · C. carduelis balcanica · C. carduelis britannica · C. carduelis brittanica · C. carduelis caniceps · C. carduelis carduelis (Eurasian Goldfinch) · C. carduelis elegan · C. carduelis loudoni · C. carduelis major · C. carduelis niediecki · C. carduelis paropanisi · C. carduelis parva · C. carduelis propeparva · C. carduelis schiebeli · C. carduelis ssp · C. carduelis subulata · C. carduelis tschusii · C. carduelis volgensis · C. carduellis · C. carduellis balcanica · C. carduellis rumaniae · C. chloris (European Greenfinch) · C. chloris aurantiiventris · C. chloris chlorotica · C. chloris harrisoni · C. chloris turkestanika · C. chloris vanmarli · C. chloris voousi · C. chloris x · C. citrinella · C. citrinella citrinella · C. citrinella corsicana · C. corsicana · C. crassirostris (Thick-Billed Siskin) · C. crassirostris amadoni · C. crassirostris crassirostris (Thick-Billed Siskin) · C. cucullata (Red Siskin) · C. deichleri · C. dominicensis (Antillean Siskin) · C. flammea (Common Redpoll) · C. flammea cabaret (Common Redpoll) · C. flammea carbaret · C. flammea exilipes · C. flammea flammea · C. flammea holboellii · C. flammea hornemanni · C. flammea rostrata · C. flavirostris (Twite) · C. flavirostris brevirostris · C. flavirostris flavirostris (Twite) · C. flavirostris miniakensis · C. flavirostris pipilans · C. flavirostris rufostrigata · C. hornemanni (Hoary Redpoll) · C. hornemanni exilipes · C. hornemanni hornemanni (Hoary Redpoll) · C. johannis (Warsangli Linnet) · C. lawrencei (Lawrence's Goldfinch) · C. lawrencii · C. linaria · C. magellanica (Hooded Siskin) · C. magellanica alleni · C. magellanica boliviana · C. magellanica capitalis · C. magellanica hoyi · C. magellanica icterica · C. magellanica ictericus · C. magellanica magellanica (Hooded Siskin) · C. magellanica paula · C. magellanica peruana · C. magellanica urubambensis · C. magellanicus · C. monguilloti (Vietnamese Greenfinch) · C. nipalensis · C. notata (Black-Headed Siskin) · C. notata forreri · C. notata notata (Black-Headed Siskin) · C. notata oleacea · C. olivacea (Olivaceous Siskin) · C. orientalis · C. pinus (Northern Canary Bird) · C. pinus macroptera · C. pinus perplexa · C. pinus pinus (Northern Canary Bird)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- A checklist of the vertebrate animals of Kansas / George D. Potts, Joseph T. Collins. [Lawrence, Kan.]: Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 1991. ENG url p. 19.
- A hand-list of British birds, with an account of the distribution of each species in the British Isles and abroad. By Ernst Hartert, F. C. R. Jourdain, N. F. Ticehurst and H. F. Withersby. London, Witherby, 1912. ENG url p. 10.
- A handbook of British birds, showing the distribution of the resident and migratory species in the British islands, with an index to the records of the rarer visitants, by J.E. Harting.. . London, J.C. Nimmo, 1901. ENG url p. 376.
- Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. ENG url p. 283, p. 289.
- BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
- BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
- Birds of New York / by Elon Howard Eaton. Albany: University of the State of New York, 1910-1914. ENG url p. 276.
- Birds of the Northwest: a hand-book of the ornithology of the region drained by the Missouri River and its tributaries / by Elliott Coues. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1874. ENG url p. 116.
- Birds. With the co-operation of John Cassin and George N. Lawrence. Washington, D.C., 1858. ENG url p. 423.
- Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 113.
- Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). London: BM(NH) ENG url p. 241.
- Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum. London, 1874-98. ENG url p. 196.
- Great Basin naturalist memoirs. [Provo, Utah]Brigham Young University, 1976-1992. ENG url p. 223.
- Memoirs of the San Diego Society of Natural History. San Diego, Calif.: The Society, 1931- ENG url p. 180.
- Naturalist (Morris) London. url p. 271.
- Naumannia: Archiv für die Ornithologie Vorzugsweise Europa's: Organ der Deutsche Ornithologen-Gesellschaft. Stuttgart. url p. 37, p. 383.
- Ornithology. v. 1. Land Birds. Ed. By S. F. Baird, from the manuscript and notes of J. G. Cooper. [Cambridge, Mass., University press] pub. by authority of the Legislature [of California]1870. ENG url p. 171.
- Our living resources: a report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems / [edited by], Edward T. LaRoe.. . [et al.]. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Biological Service, 1995. ENG url p. 299.
- Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. [Philadelphia, Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia] ENG url p. 65.
- Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. Boston [etc.]Boston Society of Natural History. ENG url p. 57.
- The Canadian naturalist and geologist. Montreal, Dawson. ENG url p. 272.
- The Great Basin naturalist. Provo, Utah, M.L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University. ENG url p. 282, p. 286, p. 306, p. 486, p. 520, p. 521, p. 55, p. 606, p. 617, p. 654.
- The University of Kansas science bulletin. [Lawrence]: University of Kansas, 1902-1996. ENG url p. 514.
- The ornithology of Illinois. Part I. Descriptive catalogue. By Robert Ridgway. Part II. Economic ornithology. By S. A. Forbes. Pub. by the authority of the state Legislature. Springfield, Ill., H. W. Rokker, printer, 1889-95. ENG url p. 504.
- The transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis. St. Louis: The Academy, 1860-1958. ENG url p. 169.
- Transactions of the Academy of Science of Saint Louis. [St. Louis, Academy of Science of St. Louis] ENG url p. 169.
Notes
Contributors
- BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 17, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 16 providers.
- Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
- NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
- Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
- Peterson, Alan P. Zoological Nomenclature Resource. Accessed June 19, 2009.
- Pippen, Jeffrey S. Jeff's Nature Page. Accessed December 2, 2007.
- Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
- Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
- The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 17, 2008:
- Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
- Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
- Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
- Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
- Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
- UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
- University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3850094
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-202306
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 14120090
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179236
- IUCN ID: 53442
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBY06110
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 205
