Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch, male, green-backed form

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Lesser Goldfinch, female

Lesser Goldfinch, male, black-backed form

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Conservation Status
6. Other Names

The Lesser Goldfinch is a small, seed-eating finch of the Southwest. It comes in two forms: a dark-backed one in Texas, and a greenish-backed one farther westward.

Cool Facts

• Male Lesser Goldfinches in the most eastern part of their range in the United States tend to have black backs and napes. Those found to the westward have green backs and only a black cap. The amount of black varies throughout the range, with many birds having partly-green backs. The amount of black shown by males can vary within a given locality too. South of central Mexico, all of the males are black-backed.

Description

• Small bird.
• Bill small, pointed, conical, and dark.
• Body bright yellow to dull brown.
• Wings dark with large white wingbars and patches of white.
• Large white patch in wing visible in flight.
• Tail short and notched.
• Breeding male bright yellow with black cap and wings, some with black backs.

Sex Differences

Male bright yellow and black, female duller and without black.

Immature

Juvenile similar to adult female, except more buffy.

Sound

Song a long combination of variable notes and phrases, repeated in rambling, intricate melody. Call a high, clear "tee-yee."

Range

Range Map

© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds from Oregon to Texas, and southward to northern South America.

Winter Range

In winters leaves northern edge of range, but found from southern Oregon and Nevada southward.

Conservation Status

Populations appear stable.

Other Names

Chardonneret mineur (French)
Jilguero dominico (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Watt, D. J., and E. J. Willoughby. 1999. Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria). In The Birds of North America, No. 392 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.