G is for Goldfinch

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Who can resist the allure of the goldfinch? Its glorious plumage, with the namesake bright yellow wing-bars and crisp white spots on black wings;the smart face mask of scarlet, black and white, and its delicate ivory bill offsetting a body the colour of golden sands.  Its voice is befitting of its appearance, with a tinkling contact call and a song described as “a liquid trickling ramble”¹.  Best of all they are rarely found alone, and a flock of goldfinch is called a ‘charm’ , defined as ‘the blended sound of many voices’ from their constant calls to each other rather than the character trait². The cheerful intermingled chorus of several goldfinches is one of my favourite bird songs.

The goldfinch is yet another bird that has expanded its range in Britain in recent history.  Its UK population status went from Amber in 1996-2001 to Green from 2002 onwards*.  Traditionally a bird of the open countryside in open grassland, fallow fields and weedy margins, it has now won the hearts of many a suburban dweller. This is largely due to people feeding the birds in their gardens and the increase in variety of bird foods offered. Nyger seed is often recommended as a specialist food for these finches, since it is small and narrow, emulating their natural diet, but those in my garden far prefer the plumper sunflower hearts. Despite their small size, they will hold their own against the larger sparrows and chaffinches on the feeders.

The goldfinch is famous for its natural diet of teasle and thistle seeds, indeed the scientific name Cardeulis comes from Carduus for thistles.  They also forage on other small seeds such as knapweed, dandelions, and alder and birch trees as well as a few insects.  Bouncing flocks will descend on fields of these plants, with individuals daintily poised on and acrobatically reaching around a chosen seed head.
Their narrow bills are well suited to prising food from these, but there is more going on than meets the eye. Instead of simply plucking the seed, these finches have stronger jaw muscles to open their bill than other species, which they use tp prise the seed sheath apart. They then pick out the seed with their tongue. Fascinatingly, studies have shown niche separation between the sexes. Males have slightly longer bills to feed on teasles, whilst females prefer thistles¹. Therefore you can judge the sex of a goldfinch flock by what they are feeding on (which is otherwise difficult as both sexes are equally showy).

Goldfinches have peculiar nesting habits for a finch. Rather than tucked away in a hedgerow, they prefer to build on the ends of a thin branch, out of reach of larger predators. The nest is stereotypically cup shaped with high sides to prevent the eggs or chicks from falling out in branch-shaking winds. Less charming is the offspring’s habit of caking the outside of the nest with droppings to deter predators!  This is another opposite to the normal passerine strategy, as most species carry off droppings to avoid predators detecting the nest.
As with most birds, young goldfinches are not as striking as their parents, being a streaky grey with no head markings. They are still recognisable by their wing bars.

Perhaps unsurprisingly,  goldfinches were highly- prized cage birds and especially so in Britain during the 1800’s when the capture of native birds was at its peak. Millions were collected to supply this industry, to the point that wild populations were seriously affected.  In Worthing, Sussex alone, an estimated 132,000 goldfinches were captured in 1860³. The forerunner to the RSPB, The Society for the Protection of Birds made the protection of goldfinches one of their main missions.
Though capturing these birds was already illegal under the Protection of Birds Act (1880), the law was cemented by the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and capture has largely stopped (Though unfortunately they are still illegally caught by some).
The legal practice of keeping captive-bred, ringed and registered goldfinches continues. This includes the breeding of ‘goldfinch mules’, hybrids between goldfinches and canaries which combine the goldfinches’ colouring and sound with the canary’s’ singing prowess. A goldfinch mule in full song can be seen here.

Whilst I’m sure these caged goldfinches bring great joy to many, I’d rather watch this gem of a bird living free on my garden feeders and flying in charms across Britain.

The European goldfinch is not the only species. There are three more types in America. The American goldfinch,  a handsome bird of bright yellow with a black cap and wingtips,  the Lesser goldfinch, which is greener and rather like a male siskin and Lawrence’s goldfinch which is grey with a yellow breast. In my opinion, none of these are as stunning as our own!

*What does this mean? Go here

References

1-Dominic Couzens. (2012) Garden Birds Confidential. Bounty Books.

2- Fransesca Greenoak. (1979) All the Birds of the Air. A. Brown and Sons.

3-Ian Newton. (1975) Finches. Collins. Cited by: Mark Cocker. (2005) Birds Britannica. Random House.