Stats

Lifespan: 5-7 yrs
Size: Tiny
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Temperate woodland
Range: North America
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Speed
Status: Common

About

The Lesser Goldfinch is one of the smallest goldfinches in North America, with males sporting a glossy black cap and brilliant yellow underparts year-round — unlike the American Goldfinch, which fades in winter. It thrives in dry scrub, gardens, and forest edges from the western US to South America.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
2.
hatchling
A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Spinus
Species: Spinus psaltria