A highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. Their long fine beaks allow them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from thistles and teasels. Increasingly they are visiting birdtables and feeders. In winter many UK goldfinches migrate as far south as Spain.
Key ID Features:
Unmistakeable brightly coloured finch with its bold red forehead and chin, white face, black cap, nape and eye stripe and sharp ivory bill.
Its tawny back extends to the breast and flanks which frame a pale underside.
White spotted black wings bear a bright yellow bar which can be seen both at rest and in flight, when a white rump is also visible.
Both sexes are similar but juveniles lack head and back colouration which is a paler grey and streaked.
Overview
Scientific name: Carduelis carduelis
Family: Finches (Fringillidae)
Where to see them:
Anywhere there are scattered bushes and trees, rough ground with thistles and other seeding plants. Likes orchards, parks, gardens, heathland and commons. Less common in upland areas and most numerous in southern England.
Seen in UK:
All year round.
What they eat
Seeds and insects in summer.
Text (c) RSPB, used with permission
For more information click here
Photographer: Tim Tapley
