American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis

American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis. Photographs taken in the coastal region of Oregon, March 2016. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, January 2008. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Behrstock, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).

American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis. Photograph taken within a residential community in the Aiken area, Aiken, South Carolina, July 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of Faith Hubsch, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Background and Identification

The American Goldfinch, Spinus tristis, is one of four subspecies of Goldfinch. Subspecies are differentiated by markings on wings and tail in addition to mantle coloration. Two of the four subspecies, Spinus tristis pallidus and Spinus tristis salicamans, winter in Mexico. They are part of the Fringillidae family of finches, which contains two hundred and twenty-nine species worldwide, separated into forty-nine genera. They are known in Mexico as Jilguero Yanqui.

The American Goldfinch is very small and often sighted. The sexes are dimorphic and plumage changes seasonally for both males and females. Males are slightly larger than females and have more vibrantly colored plumage, throughout the seasons. The crown of the male is jet black. The nape, down through the rump, and breast, down through the vent, are bright yellow. The wings and tail are jet black but have white bands throughout. The bill is orange colored and the legs and feet are light brown. Females are similarly colored but do not have the black crown. The yellow coloration of the female is more like an olive color and the wings and tail are more brown than black. During the non-breeding season, the colors of both males and females are dulled. In Mexico, they are more likely to be found in their non-breeding plumage.

Habitat and Geographical Range

American Goldfinches are commonly found in fields, flood plains, sparsely wooded areas, and suburban landscapes. They are found in uncultivated and weedy fields, where plants of the family Compositae are found. Examples of composite plants are sunflowers, daisies, and asters. The seeds from these plants are the main food source of Goldfinches and they uncommonly eat insects. Interestingly, this prevents juvenile Brown-headed Cowbirds, Molothrus ater, from reaching maturity in their nests. Nests can be found along the forest edge in shrubs or trees in semi-colonial distributions.

Populations of American Goldfinches will migrate when food becomes scarce. Personal bird feeders have led to some populations remaining in a location throughout winter. Migration behaviors vary from year to year. During the breeding season, populations can be found in southern Canada and the northern Midwest of the United States. Year-round populations are found in the Northern Rockies, the Midwest, and New England. Non-breeding populations are found throughout California, the Southwest United States, Texas, and the Gulf Coast. The non-breeding populations in Mexico can be found in northern Baja California, northern Sonora, and along the Gulf Coast of Mexico as far south as central to northern Veracruz.

Common Misidentifications

Female American Goldfinches are easily confused with the female-plumaged Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria. The female Lesser Goldfinches are smaller than the female American Goldfinches and have a different tail pattern, where white spots are present on the tips and the retrices are solid black.

Conservation Perspective

From a conservation perspective, the American Goldfinch is currently considered of  Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They adapt well to suburban areas. While the introduction of domestic cats has impacted their populations, their abundance has most likely increased with human interventions. However, they are vulnerable to pesticides that are commonly used on crops throughout the Midwest. Nonetheless, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) of the United States and preservation actions like prescribed burns have been shown to increase local abundance.