Ian Stewart
American Goldfinches are one of my favorite birds. Their scientific name, Spinus tristis, translates as ‘Sad bird of thorn bushes’ and derives from their mournful rubber-duck like ‘squeak’ call. Personally, I think this name is unfair, as Goldfinches always seem such happy, colorful characters (like the female pictured below) with their jaunty, bouncy flight and excited twittering. They are common birds which can lead to them being overlooked and yet they have two major surprises under their wing.
The first is that they breed very late in the summer. Once you get past mid-August only a handful of birds are still breeding in Delaware but the Goldfinch is one of these select few, along with the related Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak. The main reason we think Goldfinches breed so late is that they feed their young entirely on seeds, rather than invertebrates like almost all small birds, so they have to delay breeding until the seed heads begin to appear. The favorite food of Goldfinches includes Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa), as well as a range of native and unfortunately, non-native, thistles.
Goldfinches build beautiful, densely-woven nests of fibrous materials such as thistle down and grasses in which they lay 2-5 bluish-white eggs (nest photographed at Bucktoe Creek on July 23). The nestlings develop in around 2 weeks and fledge resembling duller versions of their parents with brownish wing bars and dark beaks (nestlings photographed in a different nest on August 5, just before they fledged).
The Goldfinches’ second surprise is that they are the only finch that molts their body feathers twice a year. Both sexes are a drab yellowish-green in the fall and winter, perhaps to avoid being seen by predators like hawks, but become brighter yellow in the summertime. The males are especially striking with their lemon yellow body, jet-black wings and cap, and white tail flashes.
The sight of a flock of Goldfinches feeding in a field of native thistle is enough to gladden the heart of any birdwatcher, and luckily Goldfinches are quite easy to attract to your yard, even in fairly urban areas. You can buy sock feeders of nyjer seeds or tube feeders made specifically for Goldfinches with thin seed ports. Since Goldfinches have such small pointed beaks they are the only common bird in our area that can reach inside and pick out the nyjer seeds. They will also happily eat black oil sunflower seed from a generic tube or platform feeder which has the added benefit of attracting other birds too. Better still, try planting some patches of Coneflower or native thistle in your yard and watch them feed how nature intended!
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