FinchesEuropean GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- ORDER: Passeriformes
- FAMILY: Fringillidae
Basic Description
The European Goldfinch is a showy standout even in the colorful world of finches. Adults combine a brilliant red, white, and black head with earthy brown tones and a bold yellow patch on jet-black wings. Juveniles are duller but share the striking yellow-and-black wing pattern. These small finches breed across most of Europe and adjacent Asia and North Africa, in lightly wooded habitats. They often gather in large flocks in weedy fields in the winter. They use their long, pointed bill to pry seeds from burdocks, thistles, sunflowers, and other plants.
More ID InfoOther Names
- Jilguero Europeo (Spanish)
- Chardonneret élégant (French)
- Cool Facts
- European Goldfinches have been introduced to many areas outside their native range and are well established in some parts of the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and southern South America.
- European Goldfinches, with their spectacular colors and cheery songs, are sometimes kept in captivity in the U.S. and later released, meaning they can turn up just about anywhere. These escaped individuals often flock with American Goldfinches and sometimes visit bird feeders.
- Since 2003, European Goldfinches have bred along the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago and Milwaukee. This population is thought to have originated from large-scale releases in Illinois, but is now considered self-sustaining and numbers several hundred to a few thousand individuals.
- European Goldfinches are experts at using their tweezerlike bills to extract hard-to-get seeds from plants. One individual in Armenia ate 30 seeds from a sunflower head in a single hour.