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Bird Sounds and Songs of the American Goldfinch | The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Bird Sounds: American Goldfinch

An American Goldfinch and her nestling.

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American Goldfinch Calls

April 18, 2022
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The bright yellow goldfinch is one welcome sign of spring. These small birds love to visit the birdfeeder, especially to eat sunflower and nyjer seed. They have a bouncy way of flying during which they often make their po-ta-to-chip calls. Learn more and listen to their distinct birdsong.

American Goldfinches are known for their bright yellow color, however, they molt in later winter as well as late summer, so the bright yellow color emerges in early spring—and an easy way to mark the season! The males have a bright yellow body with black forehead, black wings with white markings. Adult females are duller yellow beneath, olive above. 

They are truly vegetarian birds and only eat seed, especially from the Asteraceae family: sunflowers, thistle, asters, etc. The males sing exuberantly during spring, however, the birds nest much later than most of their peers—once their beloved thistles and milkweeds have gone to seed. They use the material from the seedbeds to build their nests!

If you’d like to attract the American goldfinch, include milkweed and thistle in your landscape! It’s fun to watch them balance on the seedbeds to pluck out the seeds. They’ll also eat the seeds that fall below feeders, but try to keep the ground well raked because these birds can get contagious diseases.

Have you heard an American Goldfinch? Add your comments below. Be sure to let us know where you live or where you’ve heard this bird sound before!

Click here to listen to the sounds of other birds, compliments of The Macaulay Library at The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

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Comments

jamie (not verified)

4 months ago

hear and see them all the time around fostoria,ohio really enjoy them.

Donald Montgomery (not verified)

2 years 3 months ago

Such a lovely little bird. I counted 19 of them feeding off the Niger seed feeders last summer. The do love to forage from the seed heads of many wild flowers. They especially love the seeds of the Purple Cone Flowers.

Anne (not verified)

4 months ago

Nice; I will plant some Purple Cone Flowers with my annual Sunflowers;

Deborah Ortega (not verified)

3 years 5 months ago

I live in Westminster Colorado and I see the American Goldfinch in my yard. I grow a lot of sunflowers and they love the seeds. It is funny to see them hanging up side down eating the seeds out of the sunflowers. I guess that is why they are so yellow from the food they eat.

Laura Fernandes (not verified)

5 years 2 months ago

These little birds are beautiful and fun to watch. We live 1 hour north of Toronto, in Aurora, ON, and this spring we have a mated pair coming to our feeder every day. We have the feeder right near the bedroom window, and always leave it open a bit. This way, I can take videos/ pics, and can also tell by their distinctive 'sqeek' and song, that they're around, even when I'm not watching, especially in the morning. Beautiful little songbirds to watch. One of our favourites for sure.