Goldfinch Facts (Carduelis Carduelis)

Size: 12cm head to tail

Weight: 14 – 17g

Wingspan: 21 – 25cm

Eggs: 4-6 per brood

Food: A variety of seeds, insects, Niger Seed, Spring/Summer Feeder Mix, Autumn/Winter Feeder Mix

Nesting: A cup shape made from grass, lichen and moss lined in wool

Status: Stable

Song: Pleasant “twitter” call

Goldfinches are one of the most beautiful within the finch family. These birds are easily recognisable due to their individual colourings and almost tropical appearance. Its Latin name is Carduelis Carduelis and is part of the Fringillidae family, also known as the family of finches. Goldfinches often search for food in flocks, they have even been seen in groups of around 100 birds.

Appearance

The Goldfinch is a beautiful bird with striking colourful plumage. They have a mixture of red, white, golden brown and black colourings. Goldfinches have flesh coloured legs and pale grey beak that they use to extract seeds from thistles and teasels. Their wings are black in colour with bright yellow wing bars and their faces are red up until their eyes. Male and female Goldfinches are similar apart from the males having a larger red patch on its face going behind the eye as well. The juveniles are brown with darker streaks, they lack the red, black and white markings on their heads.

Where they are found and what they like to eat

Goldfinches are widespread across the UK except northern Scotland and can be found in bushes, trees and along the ground in thistles. However, they also like to live in parks, gardens and orchards. You can hear their pleasant twitter call all year round and is sometimes accompanied by the male pivoting and dropping its wings, known as the “pivoting display”. Due to the Goldfinches colourings and beautiful voice they were once kept as caged birds. Goldfinches like to feed on bird tables and will readily use hanging tube feeders. They like to eat a variety of seeds, insects, tree seeds, for example birch and alder, and have a real love for Niger seeds. To attract these finches to your garden we recommend Niger seeds, alongside one of our feeder mixes; autumn and winter feeder mix, or spring and summer feeder mix.

Breeding

Goldfinches tend to breed in loose colonies due to their sociable nature. There are estimated to be 220,000 breeding pairs in the UK. The breeding season of the Goldfinch tends to begin in late April, a pair may have 2-3 broods during the season. Within each brood they lay between 4-6 eggs. The eggs are between 13-18mm, with a smooth, glossy pale blue shell with reddish patterns across it. It is only the female Goldfinch that incubates the eggs, she will sit on the nest for 12-13 days, then once the eggs have hatched both parents take on the role of feeding. After between 13-18 days the chicks fledge the nest and become part of a flock of Goldfinches to search for food.

Nesting and Territory

The females build the nest out of moss, lichen and grass all lined with wool built in a cup shape. Occasionally their nests are decorated in flowers. Goldfinch nests are usually found at the end of branches in trees or in bushes within gardens and orchards, but also in open woodland. Collectively the Goldfinch is estimated to have 313,000 UK territories, but due to breeding in small colonies these birds aren’t particularly territorial.

Extra Information

In winter many UK goldfinches migrate as far as the south of Spain, however the majority of these birds are female. Placing food in gardens is important during late spring as there is a food shortage and a steady decline in natural resources at this time of year. The use of chemicals can dramatically decrease the Goldfinch population, so to help this bird’s population to remain stable the use of chemicals and herbicides should be avoided.