The goldfinch is a bird unknown to the general public. However, in France, it is regularly encountered, especially in the countryside or in wooded areas. Its singing is also part of our daily lives since we hear it chirping during its breeding periods. Let's look at this little bird that deserves to be better known...
- Scientific name: Carduelis Carduelis
- Common name: Goldfinch
- Family: Finches
- Genus: Carduelis
- Origin: Europe
- Height: 12 cm
- Weight: 14 to 18 g
- Lifespan: 12 to 15 years
- Diet: granivore
- Legal status: Non-domestic – Not included in any Annex – But it is fully protected on our territory following the decree of 17 April 1981. (Wild phenotype)
What is an elegant goldfinch?
The goldfinch (Carduelis Carduelis) is a bird of the order Passeriformes, and of the family of finches whose members include sparrows, also.
Physically, it is even smaller than the sparrow, since it is only 12cm long and 23cm wingspan on average. It weighs between 13 and 20 grams and can live between 12 and 15 years in nature.
The goldfinch is a colorful bird. Indeed, its body is light brown, with black wings barred in the middle of a yellow stripe. Its head is white and black, and its face is blood red. Its bill is white, while its legs are grey.
This small bird is diurnal (it was born), and is essentially granivorous (which means that it feeds only on seeds), including thistle seeds that it loves (hence its name), but also dandelion or ragwort. The pointed cone shape of its beak is also perfect for looking for seeds in these thorny plants without injury.
The range and living space of the goldfinch
The elegant goldfinch, as said above, has conquered the whole of France, but not only. Indeed, this little bird is found throughout Europe (and also in Cape Verde), all the countries bordering the Mediterranean, and the Middle East except Yemen, and throughout Asia except Southeast Asia and Korea (north and south). It has been introduced to Brazil, Uruguay, New Zealand, Australia, and the Azores. It has even been observed in Japan, the water Sultanate of Oman, and Argentina
Only individuals living in Nordic countries are considered migratory. In Europe, they will migrate in winter to southern France, Spain, Greece, Italy, and Portugal.
The goldfinch lives mainly in gardens, parks, cemeteries, orchards, or vacant lots, in which it will find seed plants for food.
During the breeding season, however, this small bird will be found at the edge of the forest, especially on chestnut trees, linden trees, or maples, and deciduous trees on which it loves to nest.
Social behavior and reproduction of the goldfinch
The goldfinch is a very sociable bird. Outside the mating season, during which males are particularly aggressive with each other to conquer females, it is not uncommon to see groups ranging from ten to thirty individuals flying, sometimes even including other species of the same family
The breeding period of the goldfinch, like the vast majority of birds, is spring. The pairs will have already formed during the mating season from February to March, and the first reproductions will take place as early as April.
The nesting period lasts four months, from May to August. During this period, goldfinches will be very discreet so as not to attract the attention of potential predators, and females will take great care to camouflage their nest in the crown of a very leafy tree.
The female will lay between four and six eggs, which she will incubate for about two weeks, without leaving her nest. His male will take care of providing him with food and water, as well as defending the nest if necessary, as he can.
Once the young are taken out of the eggs, the female and male will feed them, first with aphids, then with seeds. After two weeks, the young will begin to fly outside the nest, but the parents will continue to feed them for a little longer. About a week after their first flights, the young goldfinches will definitely leave the nest in groups, waiting until the following year to breed.
ITS CHARACTERISTICS
What is this mysterious bird?
The goldfinch has become a highly protected species following its mass disappearance on our territory. The causes of this disappearance are:
– a large amount of pesticide used in our fields, which means that this bird no longer finds enough food.
– the capture of these birds is very popular with bird lovers.
It has been estimated at about 40 million individuals in Europe.
Despite the fact that it is considered migratory, it is present in all seasons on our territory. The goldfinch is a bird admired for its bright and colorful plumage and very melodious song. It has a red head surrounding the beak and extending to behind the eyes, followed by white and then black. Its back is brown with black and yellow wingtips. Its chest is brown and white. Its a black tail with some whitish spots. Compared to its domestic cousins, such as the canary, it has a longer and thinner beak. Sexual dimorphism is very hard to distinguish, the black mask of the female is generally less extensive behind the eye and the color of the shoulders is more grayish in the female and black in the male.
The goldfinch lives in parks, gardens, undergrowth, hills and sometimes in the forest, it can even be seen in the mountains up to 1,000 meters above sea level. In winter, they gather to feed or to form a couple.
HIS HOME
In captivity, it is advisable to keep a couple in an aviary of 2 m x 2 m x 1 m minimum. This house must of course be covered and well-protected from drafts. Cohabitation with other species, such as the canary, train, or mandarins is possible, but this is not at all advisable for beautiful reproduction.
The aviary can be planted with cedars and boxwood. Many perches can be installed as well as drinking troughs and bathtubs. Place several nests available, to give couples the choice and arrange them as high as possible. This will reassure the couple. Do not dispose of these nests before the breeding season.
several feeders will have to be placed in the habitat, to give free choice to the birds. Because even if the goldfinch has its preferences, it has been proven that it can consume 150 different seeds.
certainly, if your environment does not allow you to hold an aviary of this size, you can always opt for an indoor aviary or a cage that is always longer than it is high. It must measure at least 1.20 m long x 60 cm high x 50 cm wide so that he can spend at ease.
Then, if you want to see a goldfinch appear in your garden, bring him what is closest to his natural environment with a diet he loves.
HIS DIET
As its name suggests, the goldfinch loves thistle seeds, which it finds on our plains or roadsides. But he does not consume only that, he also appreciates sunflower seeds, Niger seeds that will bring him fat for the winter, but also dandelion, white mouron, evening primrose ....
Clusters of millet are arranged at will in his dwelling. Thawed pimckies (mealworms) can be given to younger children and parents at the time of breeding.
The goldfinch's diet consists of 80% seeds, the rest is only occasional. He also appreciates small spiders, larvae, aphids... Or fruits or vegetables such as strawberries, cucumber, and melon... Fresh water should be installed every day (this is very important, and if possible a drinker to avoid the transmission of diseases). Aniseed sand or grit (a mixture of oyster shells and fine gravel) will allow better digestion. As well as cuttlefish bone, which is essential for calcium intake and good egg quality.
ITS REPRODUCTION
- Breeding season: mid-April to June
- Number of clutches per year: 2 to 3 per year
- Number of eggs per clutch: 4 to 5 eggs
- Brooding Duration: 12 to 15 days
- Weaning: 2 months
The goldfinch is a fairly late breeder, it will not begin breeding until mid-April. At the beginning of March, you can start setting up the nests, protected or not by cedars, because, unlike other birds in Europe, it does not mind nesting in the light. Bring them nesting tools, such as coconut fiber, wool, cotton, moss, or spider web (a material widely used in their natural environment). The diet also plays an important role in triggering reproduction, consider bringing him a white mouron or dandelion.
Before this period, the male sings a lot and cares very little about his mate. When reproduction begins to be felt, the birds are agitated, calls and calls can be heard, and when the male is ready to reproduce the black line of the upper mandible disappears and the beak turns pink. It can even sometimes be noticed that the male gives the crutch to the female.
It is essentially the female who makes the nest, but the male helps her transport the materials. The goldfinch's nest is the same as the one installed for canaries.
Laying often arrives early in the morning and consists of 4 to 5 eggs, with 1 egg laid each day. These eggs are blue-green with brown spots. The female broods alone, it is the male who will come to feed her, and this up to 4 or 5 days after the birth of the chicks. Only the female will feed the young, the male will feed his female until the exit of the nest of the young after 15 days.
The ringing of the young is done around the 7th day with a diameter of 2.7 mm. Unlike other species the young goldfinches are very dissipated and are a little lazy, it will often happen that they are fed for up to 40 days. The male feeds the young as soon as the female wishes to lay eggs. Young goldfinches are not as colorful as their parents, their beautiful colors will appear once the juvenile molt and the annual molt have passed.
Legislation:
The goldfinch of the wild type is a bird completely protected on our territory. Only persons holding a certificate of competence for the maintenance and breeding of this species may hold them. It is part of the red list of protected birds in France. It is forbidden to capture it, remove nests or even transport it dead. This offense will result in a conviction, a fine, or the withdrawal of the holder's certificate of capacity. The DDPP (Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations) or the DSV (Directorate of Veterinary Services) is in charge of all these animal protections. Before the first detention, it will be necessary to carry "a certificate of capacity of non-domestic animals" then, it will be necessary to make a written "request for detention" to the department where you reside, explaining in this request the nature of the detention (breeding or not), the facilities, the food intake ... Finally everything that can prove your knowledge about this bird. And of course, your very first goldfinch will have to be ringed, which will prove its origin from recognized professional breeding.
Subjects called "hybrids" or "mules" (goldfinch crossed with a canary for example) are prohibited from detention, because the wild phenotype prevails over the so-called domestic bird. However, you can hold a "mutation" type goldfinch (agatha, satin, brown or eumo) without problem.
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