Goldfinch
- There are just three species of goldfinches in the world - our familiar bird, plus two across the Atlantic: the widespread American goldfinch and Lawrence’s goldfinch, found in the south-west USA.
- European goldfinches were introduced successfully to both Australia and New Zealand over 100 years ago.
- Young goldfinches lack the red face of the adult, and are often known as grey pates.
- The popularity of goldfinches as a cage bird in Victorian Britain led to huge numbers being trapped to supply demand, causing the population to crash.
- Halting the decline was one of the first priorities of the Society for the Protection of Birds, later to become the RSPB.
- The finches were trapped by a variety of methods including birdlime, clap nets and spring-loaded cages using a decoy.
- The numbers of finches caught in a year could be huge: in 1860, for example, 132,000 were reputed to have been taken at Worthing in Sussex.
- The collective name for goldfinches, a charm, is derived from the old English c’irm, describing the birds’ twittering song.
- Goldfinches rejoice in a number of old rural names including goldie, gold linnet, redcap and King Harry.
- One old name, thistle finch, reflects the bird’s favourite food.
- The scientitifc name of a goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis, is derived from the Latin for a thistle, Carduus.
- Goldfinches appear frequently in medieval paintings of the Madonna and Child, reflecting the finch as a symbol of fertility and resurrection.
- In the early 18th century the word goldfinch was used as slang for a very wealthy person.
- Male goldfinches have longer beaks than females, allowing them to feed on teasels, something the females seldom attempt.
- Though chiefly vegetarian, feeding on seeds, in spring they will also take small insects such as aphids.
- Goldfinches will sometimes hybridise with greenfinches in the wild; in captivity they have been crossed with canaries, bullfinches and serins.
- Goldfinches like to build their nests on the outer twigs at the end of a branch: they particularly favour fruit trees.
- Most pairs attempt to rear two broods a year; some rear three.
- Many European populations are migratory, moving to the Mediterranean for the winter.
- Goldfinches are highly social, flocking soon after the breeding season has finished.
- Autumn flocks may sometimes number thousands of birds.
