How to Identify aLesser Goldfinch
Spinus psaltria · 3.5–4.7 in (9–12 cm)
Male vs. female
Male
Bright yellow below with a black cap; the back is glossy black in Texas birds and greenish in western ones.
Female
Dull olive-green above and pale yellow below, with white wing flashes and no black cap.
Male photo: Bettina Arrigoni / Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0 · Female photo: Alan D. Wilson / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 2.5
Field marks
- Black cap on the male at all seasons
- White patch at the base of the primaries, obvious in flight
- Undertail always yellowish, never white
- Very small and short-tailed
Similar species
What it sounds like
A sweet, wandering, jumbled warble full of imitations of other species, plus a plaintive descending "tee-yee".
Behaviour that gives it away
Gathers in tight flocks at thistle and sunflower heads, and works seeding weeds while hanging upside-down.
Habitat & range
Open woodland, scrub, weedy fields, gardens and parks across the western and southwestern states.
When you'll see it
Present all year in western and southwestern North America.
What it eats
Small seeds, especially of thistles and sunflowers; regular at nyjer feeders.
Did you know?
Its warbling song is stitched together from snatches of other species’ calls, so no two males sound quite the same.
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