Wildlife Wednesday – American Goldfinch

Welcome back to Wildlife Wednesday from your Ohio Division of Wildlife as we spotlight the American Goldfinch.

The summer male goldfinch is another of the brilliantly colored birds – a bright canary yellow, with a black cap, wings, and tail, and white rump. The female is a pale yellow with black wings and white wing bars. Winter birds are a tan to olive shade but retain the black wings and white wing bars. The flight pattern is another good identification aid – undulating like the woodpeckers.

Goldfinches are among the latest of our nesting birds, waiting until the thistle seeds mature. The nest is a well-made cup of grass and bark strips, with the main ingredient being thistle and seed down. It is placed in an upright fork of a sapling and will hold four to five pale blue eggs. Peak breeding is in June and July, and incubation lasts 12-14 days.

For more info on this bird, please head to https://ohiodnr.gov/…/disc…/animals/birds/american-goldfinch#WildOhio Ohio Department of Education

Information courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources