Content deleted Content added
Tom.Reding (talk | contribs) m +{{Authority control}} (1 ID from Wikidata); WP:GenFixes & WP:TREE cleanup on |
|||
| (12 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Featured article}}
Line 6:
| name = American goldfinch
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Late Pleistocene|present}}
| image =
| image_caption = Male
| image2 = American
| image2_caption = Female
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn
| genus = Spinus
| species = tristis
Line 37:
The only finch in its [[subfamily]] to undergo a complete [[molt]], the American goldfinch displays [[sexual dichromatism]]: the male is a vibrant [[yellow]] in the summer and an [[olive (color)|olive]] color during the winter, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored [[plumage]] during the breeding season to attract a mate.
The American goldfinch is a [[Seed predation|granivore]] and [[adaptation|adapted]] for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical [[beak]] to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social bird and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. It may behave [[Territory (animal)|territorially]] during nest construction, but this aggression is short-lived. Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. This species is generally [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]] and produces one brood each year.
Human activity has generally benefited the American goldfinch. It is often found in residential areas because it is attracted to [[bird
==Taxonomy==
Line 47:
*The '''northwestern goldfinch''' (''S. t. jewetti'') is smaller and darker than the other subspecies. It occurs on the coastal slope of the [[Cascade Range|Cascade Mountains]] from southern British Columbia to central California, overlapping with the range of ''S. t. pallidus''.<ref name="BNA"/>
*The '''willow goldfinch'''<ref name="Mcauliffe03">{{cite book|last=McAuliffe|first=Emily|title=Washington Facts and Symbols|publisher=Capstone Press|year=2003|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERobeh3Fp1AC&pg=PA13|isbn=978-0-7368-2277-0|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430151456/https://books.google.com/books?id=ERobeh3Fp1AC&pg=PA13|url-status=live}}</ref> (''S. t. salicamans'') occurs west of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] range during the summer and in the central and southern [[Baja California Peninsula]] to the [[Mojave Desert]] and the [[Colorado Desert]] in the winter. In winter, the plumage of both sexes is browner than the other subspecies and in summer, the male's black cap is smaller than that of the other subspecies.<ref name="BNA"/>
==Description==
[[File:Female american goldfinch.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Female]]
[[File:20231011 american goldfinch south meadows PND06713-topaz-enhance-3600w.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Non-breeding plumage]]
The American goldfinch is a small [[finch]], {{convert|11|-|14|cm|in|sp=us|abbr = on}} long, with a [[wingspan]] of {{convert|19|-|22|cm|in|sp=us|abbr = on}}. It weighs between {{convert|11|-|20|g|oz|sp=us|abbr = on}}.<ref name="Georgia Wildlife Guide">{{cite web|url=http://dromus.nhm.uga.edu/~GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=speciespages/species_page&key=ctristis |work=Georgia Wildlife Web |publisher=The Georgia Museum of Natural History |title=''Carduelis tristis'' |access-date=4 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703155849/http://dromus.nhm.uga.edu/~GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=speciespages%2Fspecies_page&key=ctristis |archive-date=3 July 2009 }}</ref> Among standard measurements, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{convert|6.5|to|7.8|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[tail]] is {{convert|4.2|to|5.1|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[Culmen (bird)|culmen]] is {{convert|0.9|to|1.1|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] is {{convert|1.2|to|1.4|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Clement">{{cite book |title=Finches and Sparrows |first=Peter |last=Clement |publisher= Princeton University Press |date= 1999 |pages=236–237|isbn=978-0-691-04878-9}}</ref> The beak is small, conical, and pink for most of the year, but turns bright orange with the spring molt in both sexes.<ref name="Cornell Bird Guide"/>
The shape and size of the beak aid in the extraction of [[seed]]s from the seed heads of thistles, [[sunflower]]s, and other plants.<ref name="Hinterlands"/>
Line 65 ⟶ 64:
==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:
The American goldfinch prefers open country where weeds thrive, such as [[field (agriculture)|fields]], meadows, [[flood plain]]s, as well as roadsides, [[orchards]], and gardens. It may also be found in open [[deciduous]] and [[Riparian zone|riparian]] woodlands and areas of [[Secondary forest|secondary growth]].<ref name="Terres">{{cite book | last=Terres | first=John K. | author-link=John Kenneth Terres | title=The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds | publisher=Knopf | year=1980 | location=New York | page=[https://archive.org/details/audubonsocietyen00terr/page/329 329] | isbn=978-0-394-46651-4 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/audubonsocietyen00terr/page/329 }}</ref> This [[habitat]] preference continues during the spring and autumn migrations.<ref name="Cornell Bird Guide"/>
Line 76 ⟶ 75:
==Behavior==
[[File:American Goldfinch-27527.jpg|thumb|right|Male (left) and female (right) at a [[thistle feeder]]]]
[[File:American goldfinch.webm|thumb|thumbtime=76|right|[[American goldfinch]] eating [[Echinacea|coneflower]] seeds and taking flight, including slow motion.]]
The American goldfinch flies in a distinctive undulating pattern, creating a wave-shaped path. This normally consists of a series of wing beats to lift the bird, then folding in the wings and gliding in an arc before repeating the pattern. Birds often vocalize during the flapping phase of the pattern and then go silent during the coasting phase. The call made during flight is "per-twee-twee-twee", or "ti-di-di-di", punctuated by the silent periods.<ref name="ADW"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/american-goldfinch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921205810/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/american%2Dgoldfinch |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 September 2021 |title=American Goldfinch |publisher=National Geographic |date=29 April 2014 |access-date=June 30, 2023}}</ref> They communicate with several distinct vocalizations, including one that sounds like "po-ta-to-chip" to the listener.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/american-goldfinch|title=American Goldfinch|date=8 May 2017|website=National Geographic Kids|access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref>
Birds do not act aggressively toward predators within their territory; their only reaction is [[alarm call]]ing. Predators include [[snake]]s, [[weasel]]s, [[squirrel]]s, and [[blue jay]]s, which may destroy eggs or kill young, and [[hawk]]s and [[cat]]s, which pose a threat to both young and adults. The oldest known American goldfinch was 10 years and 5 months old.<ref name="Cornell">[https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/overview American Goldfinch, All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929155836/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/overview |date=29 September 2018 }}. Allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 29 September 2018.</ref>
Line 90:
The breeding season begins later in the year than for any other finch and later than any other native North American bird, besides occasionally the [[sedge wren]].<ref name="Hinterlands"/><ref name="Cornell"/> This may be related to the abundance of seeds in the late summer months, as seeds represent most of their diet.<ref name="Sullivan"/>
The courtship rituals include aerial maneuvers and singing by males, who begin courtship in late July. The flight displays begin as the male pursues the female, who flies in zigzagging evasive patterns. The male can signal his quality and fitness, both in the short term (current body condition) and long term (genes), through ornamentation (bill color and plumage).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rosen |first=Rafael F. |author2=Tarvin, Keith A. |title=Sexual signals of the male American goldfinch |journal=Ethology |volume=112 |issue=10 |pages=1008–1019 |year=2006 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.2006.01257.x |bibcode=2006Ethol.112.1008R }}</ref> If a female accepts the male as a mate, the pair will fly in wide circles, as the male warbles throughout the flight.<ref name="Hinterlands"/>
Once a male has found a mate, he selects a territory, marking the boundaries by warbling as he flies from perch to perch. After circling the perimeter, he performs two flight displays, first repeating a low, flat flight, then flying in an exaggerated version of normal flight, tucking his wings close to his body, plummeting earthwards and catching himself as he spreads his wings to glide upward in a series of loops. Two or three pairs may group their territories together in a loose colony, perhaps to aid in defense against predators.<ref name="Hinterlands"/>
Line 111:
== Status ==
The American goldfinch has a large range, with an estimated global extent of about {{convert|11300000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and an increasing population. The species is evaluated as [[least concern]] on the 2016 [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="iucn
==Relationship with humans==
The American goldfinch is found in residential areas throughout its range. Backyard [[Birdwatching|birders]] attract it using feeders containing [[niger seed]],<ref name="hearth"/> or by planting grasses and [[perennial plant]]s, such as [[zinnias]], cosmos, [[bee balm]], or [[globe thistle]], which produce seedheads favored by finches.<ref name="hearth">{{cite web|author=Hollis, Elece |title=Backyard Birdwatching: The American Goldfinch |work=Garden and Hearth |url=http://www.gardenandhearth.com/Bird-Watching/American-Goldfinch.htm |access-date=4 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529075507/http://www.gardenandhearth.com/Bird-Watching/American-Goldfinch.htm |archive-date=29 May 2007 }}</ref>
The American goldfinch is not threatened by human activity and is widespread throughout its range.<ref name="iucn
==State bird==
| |||