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Finches and Goldfinches


Finch is the common name given to several unrelated groups of
seed-eating birds including the true finches. Also the Hawaiian
honeycreepers, and a family of tiny birds of tropical and
subtropical areas of Eurasia.


Many tropical American birds bear the common name "finch";
examples include the yellow finches, the brush finches, the
warbling finches, and several genera of Darwin's finches, native
to the Galapagos Islands.


The house finch, the purple finch, and Cassin's finch are
native to North America.

Many members of this group are fine song birds and are popular as
cage birds, especially the canary and its relatives.


Goldfinches

The American goldfinches are mostly yellow in color, with black and
white markings. The widely distributed American goldfinch is about
5 inches long. They are close relatives of the sparrows.

Adult males in summer are brilliant yellow with a black cap and tail,
and black wings marked with white. Females lack the black cap and
are a duller yellow. Both genders assume a brownish plumage in winter.



The goldfinch builds it's nest in trees or bushes from fine grasses
and bark moss and lines the nest with thistledown. It lays from
3 to 6 pale bluish white, unmarked eggs.

Diet consists of weed seeds, grains, wild fruits, some plant
lice and caterpillars.


Two smaller species, the lesser goldfinch and Lawrence's goldfinch
are found in the western United States, the range of the former extending
down into South America.


Finches & Goldfinches belong to the order Passeriformes.

Picture Goldfinches



See Also:

Keeping Finches as Pet Birds

Index of all Perching Birds

Stuffed Plush Finches & Birds

Eye Catching Finch and Goldfinch Calendars