Lawrence's Goldfinch

Carduelis lawrencei

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family FRINGILLIDAE - Subfamily Carduelinae

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A handsome and uncommon small finch, Lawrence's Goldfinch breeds across a small range in the woodlands of California and Baja California. Its highly erratic movements from year to year make assessment of its population trends very difficult.

Cool Facts

• The Lawrence's Goldfinch seems to have no loyalty to its breeding areas, being present in large number in a locality one year and absent the next. Its nomadic movements are probably related to availability of water and seed crops.
• Unlike most migratory birds, Lawrence's Goldfinch moves mostly to the east and west, rather than northward and southward, between seasons.

• Lawrence's Goldfinch was named by John Cassin in 1850 for his colleague George Lawrence, a New York businessman and ornithologist.

Description

• Size: 10-12 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 21 cm (8 in)
• Weight: 9-14 g (0.32-0.49 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Gray back and sides.
• Yellow patch on chest.
• Yellow wingbars.
• Dusky or black face.

• Small, pinkish bill.
• Yellow rump.
• Black tail with white patches.
• Yellow patches at base of yellow wings.
• Eyes dusky brown.
• Legs pink.

Sex Differences

Male has black face, including forecrown and throat. Female's face is gray and her yellow patches on chest and wings are less distinct.

Male

Black face. Gray nape and mantle. Black wings with broad yellow bars and conspicuous yellow edges on primary feathers. Yellow patch on breast.

Female

Gray face. Gray overall, with subtle yellow wing bars, edges of primary feathers, and breast patch.

Immature

Similar to adult female, with even less yellow; sometimes appears all brownish gray.

Similar Species

• Nonbreeding female American Goldfinch very similar to female Lawrence's, but lacks yellow wingbars and tail is mostly white below and dark with white tips above, rather than black with white near tip.
• Lesser Goldfinch has white, not yellow wingbars and is generally more yellow.

Sound

Song is a long, complex series of trills, burry notes, and chatter. Many song elements are imitations of other bird species' vocalizations. Flight call is a distinctive "tink-ul." Also issues harsh two-syllable phrases and single bell-like call notes.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Locally highly variable from year to year. Breeds in California west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains southward into northern Baja California.

Winter Range

Winter movements irregular. Occurs within all portions of breeding range in winter, but also wanders to southern Arizona and New Mexico.

Habitat

Open woodlands, chaparral, and weedy fields.

Food

Almost exclusively seeds, mostly from annual plants.

Behavior

Foraging

Perches on a plant and picks seeds from it.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A loose cup of leaves and grass stems, with lichen where available, placed at mid-height in a tree.

Egg Description

White and unmarked; sometimes very pale blue.

Clutch Size

3-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with down along back.

Conservation Status

The erratic movements of this species make tracking of trends very difficult, but overall population size is probably less than 200,000. Because of its limited numbers, is included in the category of highest concern (red) on the Audubon WatchList.

Other Names

Chardonneret gris (French)
Dominiquito de Lawrence, Jilguero gris (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Davis, J. N. 1999. Lawrence's Goldfinch (Carduelis lawrencei). In The Birds of North America, No. 480 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.