One of our most colorful birds is the goldfinch. There are actually three varieties of these birds, the American Goldfinch, Lawrence’s Goldfinch and the Lesser Goldfinch. Male goldfinches are extremely colorful–primarily yellow with striking black and white markings. The females and young do have some yellow on them, but are primarily a dull greenish-brown color.
Goldfinches are different than other birds in a couple of ways. Although they do feed insects to their young, they are almost entirely seed eaters, eating the seeds of weeds and flowers such as sunflowers, zinnias, goldenrod, asters, and especially thistle seeds. Thistle goes to seed later in the summer and produces thistledown which helps the seeds disperse with the wind. It also makes wonderful nesting material and a goldfinch’s nest is completely lined with it. As a result of their dependency on the thistle plants, goldfinches nest later in the summer than most birds as they wait for the thistle plants to mature and produce seeds.
Goldfinches can be attracted to your yard by offering them a seed that’s very similar to thistle seed. It’s called Nyjer seed and goldfinches love it. It’s not related to the thistle plant at all but it’s often called thistle by people who feed birds.
Here is a great video and below it are more links about the Goldfinch.
American Goldfinch in HD
Here are a few clips I put together of the American Goldfinch Birds that visit my feeders. They are fun to watch and have an interesting way to feed, upside down if you have the right feeder. You can get many feeding at once and these types of feeder…
January’s Feathered Friend: The Amazing American Goldfinch
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/American_goldfinch_winter_f.jpg www.answers.com/topic/american-goldfinch http://www.iowavoice.com/2007/10/09/american-goldfinch-winter-nonbreeding-plumage/ …
Publish Date: 01/29/2010 2:04
http://woodbridgegreenhousesblogger.blogspot.com/2010/01/feathered-friends.html
The American Goldfinch, New Jersey’s State Bird
The American Goldfinch, one of the most beautiful birds in the US, has been the state bird of New Jersey for over a hundred years now. It can be seen throughout the year almost anywhere in the state. …
Publish Date: 06/10/2010 16:12
http://yovia.com/blogs/gardenstate/2010/06/10/the-american-goldfinch-new-jerseys-state-bird/
american goldfinch videos on the internet bird collection; the american goldfinch show – informative but non-scholarly essay on the american goldfinch. featured article. source: wikipedia.org all text is available under the terms of the …
Publish Date: 04/02/2009 16:14
http://www.backyard-birding.com/american-goldfinch
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