American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      Grass
      or Upland Brush
      or Savanna

2nd alternative:
      Fields/Pastures
   containing:
      Deciduous Inclusions

Habitat List:

view size class definitions

Literature:

Habitat: Members of this species inhabit relatively open areas with shrubs and small trees. Human disturbance during the 19th century, in the form of clearing and farming in what had been forested areas, may have led to a historical increase in population size. The Atlas Habitat Survey found goldfinches in a diverse array of communities but the most frequent were residential areas, old fields, and shrub wetlands.

Adequate food supplies appear to be important in determining where territories are established as well as the timing of the nesting cycle.

Females place nests of tightly woven hawthorn and milkweed branches, grasses, and moss, lined with the down from thistles and other composites, in the forks of bushes and trees 1 to 10 m from the ground. Only the female incubates, but both parents feed the young by regurgitating partially digested seeds and both use complex vocalizations to defend the nest.

Habitat: Breeding: Open weedy fields, pastures with scattered trees near villages and farms, forest edges, open swamps. Wintering: Woodlands.

Special Habitat Requirements: Open weedy fields, scattered woody growth for nesting.

Habitat: Patches of thistles and weeds, roadsides, open woods, edges. Found at all seasons in semi-open areas having open weedy ground and some trees and bushes for shelter, especially areas of second growth, streamsides, roadsides, woodland edges, orchards, suburban areas. In winter, also in some very open fields farther from trees.

Diet: Mostly seeds, some insects. Diet primarily seeds, especially those of the daisy (composite) family, also those of weeds and grasses and small seeds of trees such as elm, birch, and alder. Also eats buds, bark of young twigs, maple sap. Feeds on insects to a limited extent in summer. Young are fed regurgitated matter mostly made up of seeds.

Nest: Usually in deciduous shrubs or trees, sometimes in conifers or in dense weeds, usually less than 30 feet above ground and placed in horizontal or upright fork. Nest is a solid, compact cup of plant fibers, spider webs, plant down (especially from thistles); nest is so well-made that it may even hold water.