The Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis, is a colourful little bird which, with its bright red, white and black head and neck is impossible to confuse with any other species. To this is added a bold golden yellow bar along the wing.
Adult males and females have the same colouring and are very difficult to tell apart, although on many males the red of the face extends to just behind the eye, which is never the case with females. The bill is basically typical of finches, triangular and pointed, designed to reach, crunch and prize open seeds. The male is sometimes said to have a slightly longer bill than the female but you’d have to see the two side by side to detect a difference. Juveniles are distinguishable because although they have the yellow wing bar they do not have the colourful head, their greyish brown back colour continues onto the head.
Goldfinches are found throughout Western Europe and also toward the east and into Asia. There are several sub-species of Carduelis carduelis. Whereas on birds toward the western end of their range the crown of the head is black, further east it is grey. This does not affect birds in the British Isles.
Among the finches most seen in Britain this is the smallest, weighing only around 15-20 gm, and measuring (from bill to tail) only 12 cm, with a wing-span of 20-25 cm..
Where to see a Goldfinch
At one time it was thought of as a countryside bird, but the practice of feeding birds in gardens has led to considerable increase in urban populations. However, no longer having a garden I see them in the countryside.
Walking around my local area there are two places where I most often see them. The first is in the trees surrounding a cycle path through a nature reserve; here they tend to be high in the branches and moving from tree to tree.
The second is by an area of shrubbery on grassland at the coast where I often walk; they fly in, seeming to bounce in the air, as groups of six or eight at a time (a “charm” of Goldfinches), land on the bushes, stay for a few minutes then fly down onto the seed heads of the grass to feed or, if the tide is out, onto the pebbles and seaweed where there are rich pickings for many birds. (See the story of this photo).
The Goldfinch Name – taxonomy
The name comes from the streak of golden yellow on the birds wing as it flies past. The scientific Latin name is Carduelis carduelis. The ancient Latin word carduelis meant thistle; in other words the this is “the thistle bird”, and we’ll see later how that relates to their diet. It belongs to the family
It is sometimes referred to as the European Goldfinch to distinguish it from the American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, a species in which the males are bright yellow with a black forehead, and sometimes called the Wild Canary. This is the state bird for several U.S. states including Iowa and New Jersey. There are also two others in North America, the Lesser Goldfinch and Lawrence’s Goldfinch.
What do Goldfinches eat?
Like other finches they are a seed eating birds. They are often to be founding feeding on thistles. The spikiness of teasels doesn’t seem to worry them, probably due to their very light weight. Many other birds that would love the seeds can’t stand the spikes but this bird is happy. It’s the same with seed heads on very slender stems. The weight of a Greenfinch, for example, would collapse the stem but a Goldfinch is so lightweight.
It is said there is a difference between the dietary preferences of male and female with the males preferring teasels and females thistles, and it has been suggested that this is because the males can reach deeper for seeds due to having somewhat longer bills.
They will also feed on the ground and high among branches but they prefer low level plants among grasses. If seeds are scarce a Goldfinch will also eat grubs, and insects along with seeds are the rich diet provided for nestlings to fuel their rapid growth toward fledging.
Goldfinches in Winter? – Migration?
In most of the British Isles there are Goldfinches for twelve months of the year. In autumn pairs split up and flocks of 30 or 40 are common, including both adult and first-winter birds. Some Goldfinches migrate short distances to the south to avoid the colder weather in Winter, and some go as far as France and Spain, but many stay local around the year.
Pairing, Nesting, Breeding
In the Spring male and female Goldfinches form pairs for breeding. A pair will usually stay together for that year, although the following year the pairs may not be the same. Goldfinch nests are usually built on the branches of trees and it is the female that does most of the building work, taking about a week with little if any help from the male. Construction materials include grass, lichen, moss and especially when there are sheep in the area, wool.
Usually a clutch of up to half a dozen bluish white, some spotted eggs is laid and then the female sits to incubate them while the male brings food for her. It takes around two weeks for the eggs to hatch, and the chicks emerge hairless, pink skinned and need to be cared for by the parents.
Both adult birds now concentrate on feeding their brood. Feathers grow rapidly and the chicks are ready to fledge at around two to three weeks old. They still need help with feeding for another week, and the male adult takes a large share of this responsibility until they can go off on their own. Two broods a year are most common but given an early start there can be three.
Goldfinch Population Trends
A hundred and fifty to two hundred years ago the wild population of Goldfinches was in many areas reduced dramatically due to trapping for sale as cage birds. Campaigning to ban this practice was successful and the numbers then increased.
The Goldfinch also has not shown the recent declines in population that are seen with many other bird species. In fact over the past 25 years the number of Goldfinches nationally has almost doubled, and in some areas much more than that. This increase is usually explained as one of the conservation benefits of garden bird feeding, although I feel there must also be other important factors as the same effect is not seen with many other species. (Click this link for more on population)
Goldfinches in English Literature
The Goldfinch cannot claim the same degree of literary exposure as the Robin but the poet John Keats included it in his poem, “I stood on tip-toe upon a little hill”. The speaker describes lingering by “a streamlet’s rushy banks” watching the ripples in the water, when:
Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop
From low-hung branches: little space they stop.
But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek;
Then off at once, as in a wanton freak:
Or perhaps, to show their black and golden wings,
Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.
Title of Donna Tartt’s, 2014 Pulitzer Prize winning novel.
