The American Goldfinch

Properly managed golf courses can provide excellent habitat for a variety
of wildlife species. Most surveys concerning the attitude of golfers indicate that golfers enjoy seeing wildlife around the course and consider view wildlife as an important part of the golfing experience. All wildlife species require food, shelter, water and adequate space in which to live. These are the basic requirements for a biologically productive golf facility.

While many species of birds are rather common, it is important that we manage for birds and other forms of wildlife when they are common, otherwise they will eventually become uncommon. The American Goldfinch is one such bird that is regularly found on golf courses, and even around the club house.

Overview

The American Goldfinch is a small, noisy finch. The male has a bright yellow body, black cap, wings, tail and white rump and under tail coverts. The wings of a Goldfinch have flashy white patches and bright yellow shoulder bar and the bill is conical in shape. Undulating flight, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides. It is often said that in flight the Goldfinch call sounds like “potato chip.”

Range and Habitat

The American Goldfinch breeds from southern British Columbia east to Newfoundland and south to California, Utah, southern Colorado, central Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the Carolinas. Spends winters throughout much of U.S.; preferring brushy thickets, weedy grasslands and nearby trees.

Some Interesting Facts

The Brown-headed Cowbird may lay an egg in a Goldfinch nest, but the Cowbird hatchling will usually die because the seed-based diet that the adult Goldfinch provide cannot support it.

The American Goldfinch changes from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of its body feathers. It is the only member of its family to have this second molt in the spring; all the other species have just one molt each year in the fall.

The Goldfinch is one of the latest nesting birds, starting in late June or early July, when most other songbirds are finishing with breeding. Their late timing may be related to the availability of suitable nesting materials and seeds for feeding young.