Birds › Backyard › American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

Spinus tristis

One of the strictest vegetarians among birds. It even feeds its chicks seeds.

In your real yard: Nyjer (thistle) seed, and coneflowers or sunflowers left to go to seed.

Lives in the Backyard habitat (Eastern North America).

American Goldfinch facts

Family: Finches
Length: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Wingspan: 8.3 in (21 cm)
Weight: 0.5 oz (13 g)
Diet: Seeds of thistles, sunflowers, asters and other plants.
Range: Most of the United States and southern Canada; northern birds move south in winter.
Nest: A cup of plant fibers lined with thistle down, so tightly woven it can hold water.
Song: A long, bright series of twitters and warbles; in flight it calls "po-ta-to-chip".
Active: by day
Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

Recording 1: Jonathon Jongsma, CC BY-SA 3.0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

Recording 2: Robert Benson, CC BY-SA 4.0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

Feeder foods, favorite first: nyjer seed, sunflower seed. Feeders that hold them: tube feeder and platform feeder. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with nyjer seed and sunflower seed and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

Free in your browser. Put out the right food in the backyard and wait.