GoldFinch

Goldfinch is one of the common species of songbirds belonging to the Finch family. These birds have a short conical bill which they use to crush the seeds on which they feed. The birds feed on seeds, thistle, teasel and dandelion seeds. They also feed on niger seed and sometimes may feed on sunflower hearts if they do not find any fields nearby. These birds have a bright red face while its body is golden brown in colour and have bright yellow wing bars. The lores and crowns of these birds are black in colour while its chin and forehead are red while its cheeks are white. The belly and rump of these birds are white in colour while its wings are mostly black and have a yellow band on it.These birds usually migrate towards south Western Europe especially to France and Spain. Mostly it is found that the female birds are more migratory than the male ones. One of the examples under this category is the American Goldfinch which is a social bird and gathers in large flocks while they are feeding or migrating. The American goldfinch is in the size of 11 to 13 centimetres long and has a wingspan of 19 to 22 centimetres. These birds weigh between 11 to 20 grams. They have a small beak which is conical and tends to be pink but turns bright orange during the spring season in both the sexes. It is found that towards the winter season these birds shed their feathers and during spring it sheds all its feathers excluding the feathers of its wings and tails which tend to be dark brown in female and turn black in male. Once its renewal phase is completed the body colour of the male turns lemon yellow which they derive from the food of the plants. These birds do not act aggressively towards their predators. Their predators include snakes, weasels, squirrels, Blue Jays, hawks and cats. It is usually seen that the American Goldfinch usually uses its feet while feeding and these birds hang too from the seedheads while feeding as it easier for them to reach for the seeds in this way. These birds are often found to be the victims of Brown headed Cowbirds but these birds are not threatened by human activity as the clearing of forests done by the humans have benefited the American Goldfinch. The nests of the European Goldfinch is a cup shaped structure which is made up of grass, stems, lichens and moss been lined with wool and these nests are often found in large gardens, orchards, open woodlands and hedgerows.These nests are build by the female partner only. 5 to 6 eggs with red speckles been in the size of 18 millimetres by 13 millimetres are laid which is also incubated by the female only. Both the male and female partner feed the young ones once they are hatched. The incubation period for these birds lasts from 10 to 14 days and the fledge days of these birds is 13 to 18 days. Captive bird hybrids between the common canary and goldfinch have an attractive song voice.