CLIPBOARD : BREEDING BIRD: AMERICAN GOLDFINCH (Carduelis tristis)

Description: Breeding adult males are bright yellow with black cap and black tail, yellow shoulder patch and black wings with white bars. Females are duller, olive above and lacking black cap and yellow shoulder patch. White undertail coverts of female distinguish it from the Lesser Goldfinch. In winter both males and females are grayish-brown with yellow throat. Juvenile plumage, held into November, has cinnamon buff wing markings and rump. Habitat: Weedy fields, thistle patches, riparian woodland, sunflowers and roadsides. Diet: Seeds, herbaceous plants, grass, floral buds and berries and a few insects. Young are fed regurgitated milky seed pulp. Displays: Male flies level, rapidly flapping wings. Nest: Braced in fork of branch; nest consists of plant down and pliable vegetation. Males often bring nest building material to females; spider silk and caterpillar webbing used to bind outer rim. Eggs: Unmarked, pale blue or bluish-white, less than one inch long. Call: Widely known as the “wild canary,” it has a clear, light, canary-like song of trills, twitters and swee notes. In undulating flight, each dip is punctuated by ti-dee’-di-di or per-chik-o-ree . Breeding bird atlas: To report bird breeding activity in your neighborhood, or to get information on the breeding bird atlas (now in its fifth and final year), call Sea and Sage Audubon Society members Sylvia Gallagher, (714) 962-8990, or Nancy Kenyon, (714) 786-3160. Note: Map is divided into 5-kilometer squares so that Audubon Society volunteers can more easily survey areas on a regular basis. Sources: Sea and Sage Audubon Society; “The Birder’s Handbook,” Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, Fireside Books (1988); “Field Guide to the Birds of North America,” National Geographic Society (1987); “Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution,” Garrett and Dunn, Los Angeles Audubon Society (1981).