Lesser Goldfinch

(my pic)

Description – two forms of males: black-backed and green-backed; both have black crown, white markings on black wing and tail, with bright yellow under parts. Immature birds are similar in appearance to females but with greener under parts.

Voice – song a rapid medley of twittering notes. Calls include a plaintive tee-yee? Or cheeo?

Habitat – oak savannas, woodlands, suburban gardens

Nesting – 4-5 pale blue eggs in a twiggy nest in bush or low tree

Lesser goldfinches feed on dandelion seeds and raise their young of soft unripe seeds. They adjust the time and place of their breeding to the presence of this staple food. Their Old World cousins, the Siskins, goldfinches, serins and canaries, have been kept as cage birds for centuries, the males singing incessantly all year except during the molt period.