Main Types of Goldfinches in America

Spinus tristis

The American goldenfinch (Spinus tristis; American Goldfinch) is a bird of the family Passerine, also known as the North American goldenfinch or the American goldenfinch. The beak is small and conical, and most of the time is pink. It will become bright orange when molting in spring. It is the only species in the genus of the golden finch that molts twice a year. It is a state bird of Iowa, New Jersey and Washington.

The North American golden finch is the only one in the subfamily of the golden winged subfamily that will completely molt and is bisexual. The males are yellow and olive in summer and winter, respectively. Female sparrows are yellowish-brown in summer. Male birds display bright feathers during the breeding season to attract heterosexual mating. The North American goldenfinch is a seed-eating, suitable for eating seed spikes. Their conical beaks can remove seeds, and flexible feet can hold the stems of seed ears. They live in groups and gather in large groups when they forage and migrate. They may be territorial when nesting, but aggression only lasts for a short period of time. Their breeding season is the same time as the peak of food supply, starting in July, which is relatively late for Passer montanus. They are generally monogamous and give birth to only one litter per year.

Human activities generally bring benefits to the North American goldenfinch. They are infested in residential areas and are attracted by human-set bird feeders, increasing their survival rate. The felling forest has created a vast lawn for them and is suitable for them to inhabit. American Goldfinch is one of the most popular birds to appear on the edge of the feeder, especially when they grow bright yellow feathers in spring and summer. During this period, their feathers are mostly yellow, or 'gold', wing tips are black, and the male bird has a black hat on its head. In winter, they change feathers, and the bright yellow gradually turns dark brown or olive.

At any time of the year, you can identify them by their black wings and sparrow-like mouths. American Goldfinch can be seen all year round in Vermont. Despite seasonal variations, American Goldfinch finches are still common, especially in open fields and scattered shrublands. Unlike some migratory birds, this adaptive bird copes with Vermont 's winter by adjusting its diet. Although they may not migrate to warmer climates, they focus on readily available seeds, demonstrating the ability to find food even in colder months. The North American goldenfinch is a daytime activity. They mainly eat seeds, but sometimes they also eat insects. Seeds can be a variety of one-year-old plants, such as weeds, thistle, Dipsacus asper, dandelion, ragweed, verbasco, autumn English, Brahmannia, sunflower and alder. They also eat tree sprouts, maple juice and strawberries. They will go to the bird feeders set up by humans to forage, especially in winter.

 

Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria):

The dark-backed goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) is a species of finch in the genus Spinus, which is distributed in the Americas, from the west of the United States to the northwest of South America. The top and back of the male 's head are diverse, from pure black to green, the abdomen is bright yellow, the feathers of the wings have white stripes, and the tail feather edges also have stripes. The color of the female sparrow is lighter and the feather markings are smaller.
 
Dark-backed goldfinches like to inhabit in open deciduous woodlands, shrubs, and urban parks. Their calls have the characteristics of nasal sounds and wheezing sounds, and they often communicate among birds. They also like to move in small groups, often jumping between treetops in search of food. The dark-backed goldfinch mainly feeds on seeds, and especially likes to eat various types of sunflower seeds. They often patronize feeders and attract the attention of bird lovers. The dark-backed goldenfinch is a lively and colorful bird that is suitable for bird watchers on the West Coast and its surrounding areas.
 
If you want to observe the dark-backed goldfinch, you can try the following techniques: Set up a feeder: Set up bird feeders in your garden or balcony and fill with sunflower seeds to attract them. Pay attention to the sounds: Listening to their unique sounds can help you locate quickly. Observing open woodland: Go to an open forest or park to find a group of dark-backed goldfinch. By understanding their habitat habits and howling, you can more easily discover and appreciate this fascinating bird.
 

Lawrence's Goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei):

At about 4.75 in (12.1 cm) long and weighing about 0.4 oz (11 g), it is slightly bigger than the lesser goldfinch and slightly smaller than the American goldfinch, with less yellow in the plumage than either. Adults of both sexes are gray with pink to grayish flesh-color bills, stubbier than other goldfinches'. They have yellow rumps and paired yellowish wing-bars, as well as yellow edges on the flight feathers and yellow on the breast. The tail is black, crossed by a white band. Plumage is duller in winter, brightening after a spring molt. Males are paler, with black caps and faces and larger areas of brighter yellow. Females are browner, have less and duller yellow, and lack the black. Juveniles resemble females but are even duller and have faint streaks on the upperparts and especially the underparts.

Calls include "a nasal too-err, also a sharp, high PIti and Itititi". The flight call, which is diagnostic, is given as "a high, clear ti-too" or tink-ul "reminiscent of glass wind-chimes". The song is high-pitched, continuous, and limited in frequency range, including wind-chime notes and especially imitations of other species' calls and other simple and distinctive sounds. Males sing in winter but mostly in the breeding season. Females sing occasionally and briefly.
 
Lawrence's goldfinch is known for its wandering habits. It breeds from about Shasta County, California to northern Baja California, largely in the Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and in the Baja highlands, but also sometimes as far down as the coast; its highest breeding altitude is about 8,800 ft (2,700 m) on Mount Pinos. There are only a few places where it has been observed to nest annually, notably the Carmel Valley and the South Fork Kern River. Choice of areas in its breeding range may depend on climate through the availability of water and preferred foods. Movements to the coast and upslope in the Sierras occur in drought years and movements to the edges of the range and into the Central Valley after wet years, possibly because of an increased food supply. It has bred a few times in Arizona.

Most, but not always all, birds leave northern, central, and inland southern California in winter. They move into the coastal lowlands and into the lower parts of the southeastern California deserts, ranging irregularly (sometimes in large numbers) southeastward to northern Sonora and northwestern Chihuahua and eastward to the southern half of Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and even the area of El Paso, Texas—roughly the Madrean Sky Islands region. In some winters mysteriously few birds are observed; possibly the birds are in Sonora and Chihuahua, which are poorly covered by naturalists. The greatest eastward irruptions often occur in wet periods and are synchronized with irruptions of other seedeating birds such as the red-breasted nuthatch, the red crossbill, and the other North American goldfinches.

Lawrence's goldfinch feeds almost entirely on seeds of shrubs and forbs. During the nesting season, it eats seeds of annuals, strongly favoring the common fiddleneck. Birders seeking Lawrence's goldfinch are advised to know this plant. At other seasons in California, it predominantly eats chamise achenes and also berries of mistletoe (Phoradendron) and California Buckthorn. In Arizona, it often eats the seeds of amaranths and inkweed. It is attracted to niger seed at feeders.