Saturday, July 17, 2010

American Goldfinch



Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Spinus
Species: S. tristis

Identifying Characteristics:

- Size and Shape:
  • Small finch
  • short, conical bill
  • small head
  • long wings
  • short, notched tail
- Color Pattern:
  • Adult males: in the spring and early summer are bright yellow with black forehead, black wings with white markings, and white patches both above and beneath the tail

  • Adult females: duller yellow beneath, olive above on the back

  • Winter birds: drab, unstreaked brown,with blackish wings and two pale wingbars
Special: Adaptations:

- Active and acrobatic that cling to weeds and seed socks

- mill about in large numbers

- fly with a bouncy, undulating pattern and often call in flight, drawing attention to themselves
- Their habitat are weedy fields and floodplains, where plants such as thistles and asters are common

- Also found in cultivated areas, roadsides, orchards, and backyards

- Conical beak is used to remove the seeds

- Agile feet are used to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding

- American Goldfinches are social bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating

-This species is generally monogamous, and produces one brood each year.

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