American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
The Eastern or American Goldfinch, Latin name Carduelis tristis, is a member of the finch, Fringillidae, family. It is a typical North American seed eating bird and so only starts nesting in mid to late summer when weed seeds are available. Because of they are late breeding the goldfinch stays in a flock for much longer then other species of bird that have already formed pairs and have begun breeding. Due to the late nesting only one single brood is raised every year.
The goldfinch is about 11 to 13 cm long, smaller then your sparrow. There is no one specific area that they breed in. They breeds all over southern Canada and from Newfoundland to British Columbia and from there will breed in northern and southern states of America. They like open spaces with trees spotted around, like orchards and along side the road.
These birds have been studied quite extensively and it has been found that when they migrate they often hesitate before they fly over water, with some even returning to the mainland. It takes the main leader of the group to head out over the water before the others one by one will follow along. It won't be long before they will return to the water's edge, chatting away noisily to each other almost as if they are gathering courage. Again they will try head over the water and those that remain will return to land until winter forces the birds to complete their migration.
The breeding male is bright yellow in colour with a white rump and a black forehead. The wings and tail are black with a white outer edge; the wings differentiate from the tail because of having an extra splash of yellow on the bend of each wing. The male and female have a dull olive-gray winter coat with black wings, tail and white stripes on their wings. When spring comes around again the goldfinches lose all their dark winter feathers and once again regain their striking orange bill. The male differs from the female in that the rest of his body goes a canary yellow with a black cap.
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