European Goldfinch
Carduelis carduelis
Beautiful little finch with a sharp pink bill, cherry-red face, and brilliant black-and-yellow flashes in the wings. Juvenile (seen in late summer and autumn) has a plain head but is told easily by bold wing pattern. Uses a wide array of wooded and open habitats, from forests and gardens to steppe grasslands and meadows; often feeds on seeding thistles. Forms flocks in autumn and winter, gathering at food sources. Can be inconspicuous, but often detected by pleasant bubbling and twittering calls and song.
Identification
The average European goldfinch is 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) long with a wingspan of 21–25 cm (8.3–9.8 in) and a weight of 14 to 19 g (0.49 to 0.67 oz). The sexes are broadly similar, with a red face, black and white head, warm brown upper parts, white underparts with buff flanks and breast patches, and black and yellow wings.<p>On closer inspection, male European goldfinches can often be distinguished by a larger, darker red mask that extends just behind the eye. The shoulder feathers are black, whereas they are brown on the female. In females, the red face does not extend past the eye. The ivory-coloured bill is long and pointed, and the tail is forked. Goldfinches in breeding condition have a white bill, with a greyish or blackish mark at the tip for the rest of the year. Juveniles have a plain head and a greyer back but are unmistakable due to the yellow wing stripe. Birds in central Asia (the caniceps group) have a plain grey head behind the red face, lacking the black and white head pattern of European and western Asian birds. Adults moult after the breeding season, with some individuals beginning in July and others not completing their moult until November. After moult birds appear less colourful, until the tips of the newly grown feathers wear away.<p>The song is a pleasant silvery twittering. The call is a melodic tickeLIT, and the song is a pleasant tinkling medley of trills and twitters, but always including the tri-syllabic call phrase or a teLLIT-teLLIT-teLLIT.
Taxonomy
The European goldfinch was one of the birds described and illustrated by Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in his Historiae animalium of 1555. The first formal description was by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae published in 1758. He introduced the binomial name, Fringilla carduelis. Carduelis is the Latin word for 'goldfinch'. The European goldfinch is now placed in the genus Carduelis that was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 by tautonomy based on Linnaeus's specific epithet. Modern molecular genetic studies have shown that the European goldfinch is closely related to the citril finch (Carduelis citrinella) and the Corsican finch (Carduelis corsicana).<p>The English word 'goldfinch' was used in the second half of the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer in his unfinished The Cook's Tale: "Gaillard he was as goldfynch in the shawe (Gaily dressed he was as is a goldfinch in the woods)".<p>The subspecies of the European goldfinch are divided into two major groups. These intergrade at their boundary, so the groups are not recognized as distinct species despite their readily distinguishable plumage. Subspecies in the carduelis (black-crowned) group occupy the western part of the range and have black crowns; subspecies in the caniceps (grey-headed) group occupy the eastern part of the range and have grey heads.
- Scientific name
- Carduelis carduelis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Fringillidae
- Genus
- Carduelis
Range and habitat
The European goldfinch is native to Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia. It is found in open, partially wooded lowlands and is a resident in the milder west of its range, but migrates from colder regions. It will also make local movements, even in the west, to escape bad weather. It has been introduced to many areas of the world.It was introduced to Bermuda, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand in the 19th century, and their populations quickly increased and their range expanded greatly. In Australia, they now occur from Brisbane to the Eyre Peninsula, and are also spread throughout New Zealand. In the United States, they have become established in the western Great Lakes region.
- Breeding range
- PAL : temperate to subtropical w, c Palearctic in woods, scrub and gardens: British Is., s Scandinavia e through n Xinjiang (nw China) and w Mongolia to Baikal region (sc Russia); in s to Iberian Pen., Madeira and Canary Is. (Macaronesia, w of n Africa), Morocco to n Egypt (n Africa), Mediterranean, Turkey, Israel, sc Iran. Afghanistan through nw Himalayas to e Nepal
- Non-breeding range
- short-distance and altitudinal movements
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Asian Openbill
Anastomus oscitans
A relatively small stork species with a grayish to white body and black wings and tail with a hint of gloss. The Asian Openbill gets its name from a distinctive gap in the dull grayish yellow bill. Note the pinkish legs. Asian Openbills inhabit wetland habitats including shallow marshes, flooded agricultural fields, and lakes. From a distance they could be confused with herons, but they can be clearly distinguished from herons by their feeding habits—wading slowly through shallow water. Soars frequently, often in large dense flocks; note extended neck, unlike retracted neck of herons and egrets.
Buckley's Forest-Falcon
Micrastur buckleyi
Elusive falcon of lowland and foothill rainforest east of the Andes. Note black upperparts, white underparts, white hindcollar, and dull yellow face. Female may show white spots on wings. Immature is barred underneath with brownish nape. Adult is very similar to pale morph Collared Forest-Falcon but slightly smaller; ID is best confirmed by voice. Typical song of Buckley’s is “kawah, koh”, sometimes followed by a lower “koh” note. Usually stays inside forest and is infrequently seen.
Black-and-yellow Broadbill
Eurylaimus ochromalus
Utterly unmistakable in its costume of black, white, yellow, and pink. Wide, deep-based bill, typical of the broadbills, is bright blue. Forages at middle to high levels in lowland and hill forests, frequently moving with mixed-species flocks and sallying out from a perch. Song is disproportionately loud, a series of high-pitched coos that increases in pitch and speed, turning into a maddened series of loud whistles. Frequently gives a jay-like “jeer!” call.
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