Stan Tekiela - Attracting & Feeding Finches

Dedication

To my father, who loved Purple Finches.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the Bird Collection, Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota (St. Paul) and the All Seasons Wild Bird Stores in Minnesota, which have been instrumental in obtaining the seed images in this book.

Thanks also to Jim and Carol Zipp, good friends and wild bird store owners, for reviewing this book.

Credits

Front and back cover photos of birds by Stan Tekiela except flying Pine Grosbeak by Richard Seeley/Shutterstock. Front cover pattern by EVAsr/Shutterstock. Front cover bird icon by kensketch/Shutterstock.

All photos by Stan Tekiela except (sorghum) by MRS.Siwaporn/Shutterstock. All bird images are American Goldfinches unless otherwise labeled.

Edited by Sandy Livoti

Cover and book design by Jonathan Norberg

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Attracting & Feeding Finches

First Edition 2015, Second Edition 2022

Copyright 2015 and 2022 by Stan Tekiela

Published by Adventure Publications

An imprint of AdventureKEEN

310 Garfield Street South

Cambridge, Minnesota 55008

(800) 678-7006

www.adventurepublications.net

All rights reserved

Printed in China

ISBN 978-1-64755-333-3 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-64755-334-0 (ebook)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

All About Finches

The American Goldfinch is one of our favorite backyard birds. Who doesnt enjoy the bold yellow plumage and black forehead of the males? Their musical songs and high-pitched calls bring our gardens to life. Flying in flocks, they are easy to attract to our feeders, making them some of our most desirable backyard birds.

Also known as Wild Canary, the American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) only superficially looks like a canary. It is a passerine, or perching bird, in Fringillidae, which is the Finch family. A petite bird with a short bill, notched tail and short pointed wings, the American Goldfinch is one of many finch species in North America. It is closely related to Pine Siskins, Lesser and Lawrences Goldfinches, Common and Hoary Redpolls and others.

Unique among the finches, American Goldfinch males undergo dramatic seasonal color changes. During spring and summer they are bright yellow with black foreheads, but come winter they change their old feathers (molt) to new shades of olive yellow to olive green, appearing like the females. Females also molt, but their color changes are hardly noticeable.

American Goldfinches are unique in other ways as well. They are known for their distinctive songs, undulating flight and their nearly exclusive diet of seeds. They are gregarious all year but nest later in the season. Unlike most birds, they dont migrate in predictable patterns.

male

female

FACTS

Relative Size: the American Goldfinch is the same size as most warblers, wrens and sparrows

Length: 5" (13 cm)

Wingspan: 910" (2325 cm)

Weight: .4.5 oz. (1114 g)

Male: bright yellow with a black forehead, small yellow-to-orange bill, black wings with a single white wing bar, notched black tail

Female: dull yellow with a brighter yellow chest, small yellow-to-pink bill, black wings and tail, lacks a black forehead

Juvenile: same as female

Nest: cup; 34" (7.510 cm) in diameter, 22.5" (56 cm) high; female constructs with plant materials, uses spiderwebs and caterpillar silk to hold it together

Migration: unpredictable, depends on the weather and availability of food; flocks of 20 or so birds move only far enough to find food

Food: mainly seeds and a small amount of insects, visits seed feeders; favors Nyjer seeds, also enjoys black oil sunflower seeds and hulled sunflowers

American Goldfinch

House Finch

Common Redpoll

Red Crossbill

Evening Grosbeak

Lesser Goldfinch

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin

Hoary Redpoll

White-winged Crossbill

Pine Grosbeak

Lawrences Goldfinch

Cassins Finch

RANGE & HABITAT

The range of the American Goldfinch is widespread, spanning the Lower 48 and reaching into Canada and down into Mexico. Studies of banded goldfinches show that many dont have regular or predictable migratory patterns. Instead, they wander around the country, usually in small flocks, with females moving farther than the males. The transient movement seems to be tied to food sources in open fields, scrubby places and woodlands more than the seasons. Northern populations tend to travel much more than those in the South, and some southern populations dont move around at all.

Studies show that American Goldfinches banded in Ontario, Canada, were found later in Louisianamore than 1,000 miles away! Flocks search for reliable food sources, traveling upwards of 5 miles each day.