American Goldfinch
Spinus tristis
Also called wild canary.
The bird people think has left for the winter. It has not — it moults into a dull olive plumage and keeps coming to the feeder unrecognised, which is why 'what happened to my goldfinches' is asked every autumn.
- Size
- Sparrow-sized — 11–13 cm
- Bill
- Short and conical
- Where
- feeder, yard, open field
- Season
- year round
What it looks like
The summer male is brilliant lemon-yellow with a black cap, black wings with white bars and a white rump. Winter birds of both sexes are drab olive-buff with black wings.
The checks that confirm it
- Black wings with white wing bars, in every plumage and every season.
- A short conical pale bill, orange in summer.
- Deeply undulating flight, often with a call given on each bounce.
- Winter birds are olive-buff with the same black wings — the wings are the constant.
Voice
A bright 'po-ta-to-chip' given in flight, and a long twittering canary-like song.
Attracting it
Nyjer seed and hulled sunflower. They are one of the few finches that will feed hanging upside down, so a mesh or sock feeder suits them.
Confused with
Western, with a black or greenish back rather than yellow, and no white rump.
Thin insect bill, no black cap, no black wings, and it works through foliage rather than visiting feeders.
Questions about this bird
How do you identify a american goldfinch?
Black wings with white wing bars, in every plumage and every season. A short conical pale bill, orange in summer.
What does a american goldfinch sound like?
A bright 'po-ta-to-chip' given in flight, and a long twittering canary-like song.
How do you attract a american goldfinch?
Nyjer seed and hulled sunflower. They are one of the few finches that will feed hanging upside down, so a mesh or sock feeder suits them.