Front:
GOLDFINCH (male and female)
Published by the National Association of Audubon Societies
Back:
No. 32 Goldfinch
Length 542 inches
This attractive little Finch, which is often called
Thistle Bird, Lettuce Bird and Wild Canary, is
loved wherever known. It is always a welcome
visitor, whether during the sunlit days of summer
or the dreary cold of winter. It often comes as
a jolly pilferer to late summer gardens, where it
feeds on the ripened seeds of the sunflower and
lettuce, all the while filling the gat Perfowith its
sweet, joyous notes. Again it may come all un-
announced in mid-winter, in small companies, to
feed on the seeds of the sycamore tree. On such
occasions it may be seen feeding and swinging on
the pendant balls.
Few birds are so sprightly and, joyful. The
undulating flight is accompanied by sweet and
plaintive notes which make it seen that the Gold-
finch, in the exuberance of its joy, is strewing
the fields and meadows with song
It nests late in the summer, after most of our
birds have reared their young The nest is in
trees or bushes and is made of grasses and moss,
lined with thistledown or other soft material.
Four or five pale bluish eggs are laid.
Classification: Order Passeres. Family Fringillida.
Scientific name: Astragalinus tristis.
Range: Throughout eastern North America, from
southern Canada and Newfoundland to the Gulf coast.
Breeds over this range except in the most southerly parts.
No. 32 from set of 50 Winter Birds of the Northeastern
United States. Published by the National Association of Au-
dubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Price per set,
in a box, $1.00 post paid.
