Carduelis tristis

Description

Nonbreeding female American goldfinches are yellow-brown with black wings and two wingbars. Breeding females are more yellow than brown and breeding males are bright yellow with black wings and forehead, and one white wingbar.

Voice

The song of the American goldfinch is long and clear. In flight, it seems to sing "potato chip, potato chip" over and over.

Breeding

March to October

Habitat

These birds like to be in overgrown fields, forest edges, and thickets.

Diet

American goldfinches eat seeds, tree buds, and insects.

Range

You can see these birds in Canada during the summer, in the southernmost United States during the winter, and year-round in the rest of the United States.

Other Useful Information

When American goldfinches fly, they dip and then come up again, instead of just flying in a straight line.

Similar Species

The yellow warbler looks a lot like the American goldfinch. You can tell them apart, because the yellow warbler has yellow everywhere and it does not have the American goldfinch's thick seed-crusher bill.