Funky Bird Cages

Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton.

Gold Finch

Gold FinchGold Finch

Scientific Name: Carduelis carduelis

The Goldfinch has been kept and bred by numerous fanciers in Great Britain for centuries. It is noted for its soft, sweet song, is friendly, and can be easily tamed. It thrives well when housed with canaries in a mixed collection.

Description:

Size: 13 cm (S in)

COCK:

Gold FinchEyes: light brown. Beak: light cream, blackish on the tip. Mask: red-edged with white, the red often fades in aviary specimens. Crown, side of neck, and wings: black. Wings also show bands of yellow and white spots at the tips of Nights. Back: brown. Upper tail coverts: buff. Under-parts: white, tinged with brown. Tail: black with white edges. Feet and legs: light brown.

HEN:

The hen looks similar to the cock, but the mask is slightly smaller and has a duller red color. Sometimes it is a little difficult to identify the sex of the bird by judging its outer appearance.

Diet: (Seed eater)

Niger is the most favored seed. The canary mixture, oats, goats, and some hulled sunflower seed should also be given. It also enjoys hemp, but sunflower seed is already substituted in countries where hemp is illegal. Green food is enjoyed and thistles are relished by this species. Grit and cuttlefish bone must always be provided.

Breeding:

This species is usually rather keen to breed. Pairs make neat, compact, smallness with dried grasses, hair, wool, and feathers. Four to six eggs are laid and the incubation period is 13 days. The hen sits alone but the parents share in feeding the young. Two nests per year can be expected from pairs.

Cock Goldfinches also mate readily with other British finches and canaries producing attractive hybrids and colorful mules.

Gold Finch Facts

  • The goldfinch of the American variety undergoes a complete change in plumage during the period between winter and the breeding season. The other species of the breed have just one molt during the time of fall.
  • The American variety of finch starts its breeding season late compared to the other birds. They generally go for breeding during the months of breeding while the other songs birds have just finished off with their breeding and nesting. The reason behind the late breeding of the American goldfinch may be due to the availability of food and nesting materials.
  • The birds breed is social. They generally stay and feed themselves in flocks during the winter season. During the breeding season, the group becomes small in size.
  • The bird is monogamous but the females do go in search of another male after laying the first brood of eggs. The fledging of the chicks is taken care of by the male while the female moves out for another male for her second brood.

During the 1970s and 1980, the number of goldfinches seriously declined due to the overuse of herbicides. Though the population of the bird is now steady in recent years it is still under threat due to changes in agricultural practices.

See more: Caring for Bengalese Finches