There are dozens of adjectives to describe the American goldfinch and his British counterpart.
Lively. Cheerful. Perky. Energetic. Animated. Athletic. Bouncy. Take your pick or add more. The goldfinch is wonderful to watch, either in the wild or as a back yard resident.
The goldfinch was originally described in 1758 as a small bird from four to six inches long with a 7.5 to 8.7 inch wingspan.
The beak is small, cone-shaped and a pinkish color. The design of the beak makes it perfect for extracting seeds from flower heads, such as sunflowers.
The American goldfinches are songbirds that go through two molts per year, which is very unusual. The pink beak mentioned above turns bright orange during the molting.
Goldfinches are rather drab in the winter, a dull green/brown with little to no colorful ornamentation. That shifts dramatically in the spring, however, when the male must begin concentrating on attracting a lady. The “men” turn into quick-change artists, donning bright yellow feathers, black and white wings and a black cap. That, combined with its melodious song, is definitely enough to turn the girls’ heads. [Read more…]
A backyard bird feeder can bring you a great deal of joy and entertainment. It can also cause frustration when you see squirrels helping themselves to your feathered friends’ food. Squirrels can also damage feeders and scare off the birds.
Who doesn’t love birds congregating in their yard? Hummingbirds are quite majestic to behold. These quick, agile birds are a member of the Trochilidae family and are the smallest bird species known to man.
Ducks. The name is a general term used to refer to a group of species in the Anatidae family of waterfowl. As you might already know, this family also includes swan and geese, but ducks are unique in some of their characteristics, hence the distinction.
Butterflies, members of the superfamily of species known as “Papilonoidea,” are small, flying insects. An old group of insects, there are butterfly fossils that date back to the Paleocene period, some 56 million years ago.