The American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is a welcome sight for birdwatchers, with its bright yellow plumage and cheerful song. These active little birds, often described as exemplifying "light-hearted cheerfulness, restlessness, sociability, and untiring activity," have specific dietary needs. Understanding their food preferences and feeding habits is key to attracting and sustaining these lovely birds in your backyard.
Natural Diet of American Goldfinches
In the wild, American Goldfinches primarily forage on seeds, with a particular fondness for those from the daisy (composite) family. They rely on plants that produce very small seeds, such as thistle, sunflowers, sycamores, dandelions, and nyjer seed. Any small seed is going to appeal to these finches, but thistle and nyjer seeds are a main draw. They also consume seeds of weeds and grasses, and small seeds of trees like elm, birch, and alder. Buds, bark of young twigs, maple sap, berries, and, less commonly, insects supplement their diet.
This species has several adaptations suited to its granivorous (seed-eating) diet, including a strong, conical bill that easily gathers and splits seed, and dexterous legs and feet, which allow the American Goldfinch to easily scramble up and down plant stems and hang from seedheads while feeding, thereby accessing seed sources unavailable to other birds.
Attracting Goldfinches to Your Yard: What to Offer
To encourage goldfinches into your yard, plant native thistles and other composite plants, as well as native milkweed. Almost any kind of bird feeder may attract American Goldfinches, including hopper, platform, and hanging feeders, and these birds don’t mind feeders that sway in the wind. You’ll also find American Goldfinches are happy to feed on the ground below feeders, eating spilled seeds. They’re most attracted to sunflower seed and nyjer.
Best Seed Choices for Feeders
- Nyjer (Thistle) Seed: Often referred to as thistle seed, Nyjer is a favorite of goldfinches. Its high oil content provides an excellent energy source. Use specially designed finch feeders with small openings to dispense these tiny seeds.
- Black Oil Sunflower Seeds: These seeds are small enough for goldfinches to shell and eat.
- Sunflower Chips: These provide fat and protein.
- Finch Blend: A mix including Nyjer and fine sunflower chips is a favorite of goldfinches, house finches, purple finches, and pine siskins.
- No-Mess Blend: This blend features seeds that have had their shells removed, such as sunflower chips, tree nuts, and shelled peanuts. It appeals to birds that eat at the feeder or on the ground.
Supplemental Foods
While seeds form the core of their diet, you can occasionally offer other foods:
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- Carrots: These can be a nice treat if prepared well. Carrots contain vitamins such as vitamin A, which is vital in the improvement of their feathers and their well-being.
- Scrambled Eggs: Offer well-cooked, unsalted scrambled eggs during the breeding season when birds require more protein. Serve in small, easy-to-take pieces.
- Watermelon: This fruit is safe for goldfinches in moderation. Remove the seeds and chop the fruit into easy-to-chew slices.
Types of Feeders Suitable for Goldfinches
Several types of feeders are designed specifically for American goldfinches:
- Tube Feeders: These feeders have small openings suited for dispensing tiny seeds like thistle.
- Mesh Feeders: Made of fine wire mesh, these feeders allow goldfinches to perch and access Nyjer seeds through the small holes.
- Sock Feeders: These soft mesh fabric feeders are designed to hold Nyjer seeds, and goldfinches enjoy pecking at them.
Feeder Placement for Attracting Goldfinches
Location is an essential factor when placing a finch feeder:
- Hang feeders in quiet, sheltered areas away from predators and high-traffic zones.
- Mount the feeder 4-6 feet above ground, near shrubs or trees for protection from predators, while ensuring squirrels and large birds cannot reach it.
Seasonal Feeding Adjustments
Adjust feeding practices seasonally to attract American goldfinches year-round:
- Spring and Summer: Offer fresh Nyjer seed and sunflower hearts to support breeding. During summer and spring seasons, considerable proportions of goldfinches forage naturally on seeds from flowers or grasses, which are available in that season.
- Fall and Winter: Provide high-fat seeds like sunflower chips to help them through colder months. As food for these birds gets harder to come by in the fall and winter, they may already be on feeders a lot in the summer.
Remember, American goldfinches are more likely to visit a feeder that is always filled with fresh food.
Addressing Common Feeding Problems
- Food Scarcity and Competition: Use specialty feeders with Nyjer seed to address these problems. To lessen competition and shield birds from predators, place feeders in shady areas.
- Unwanted Guests:
- Finch-Specific Feeders: Choose feeders designed for small birds like American goldfinches.
- Squirrel-Proof Feeders: These feeders have mechanisms that shut the feeding ports when a bulky animal approaches.
- Cage Feeders: These feeders have a metal enclosure around the feeding area.
Feeder Cleaning and Maintenance
Cleaning and caring for your bird feeders are very important if American goldfinches in your yard are to remain healthy. To protect American Goldfinches from contagious diseases at feeders, keep the ground well raked. Here’s how:
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- Use a Mild Soap Solution: Rinse feeders with warm water and dish soap.
- Rinse Thoroughly: Make sure that you wash off all the soap and bleach residues from the feeders.
- Dry Completely Before Refilling: Let the feeders dry first before replenishing them with more seed.
- Keep the Feeding Area Clean: Remove droppings from the surrounding area.
Creating a Goldfinch-Friendly Habitat
While feeders are a great way to attract goldfinches, consider creating a habitat that naturally supports them:
- Plant Native Wildflowers and Grasses: Growing lots of native wildflowers and grasses that produce seeds in the summer and fall will help attract American goldfinches. You want to have seeds available throughout the year, but especially during the late summer and fall nesting season.
- Avoid Deadheading: When you’re planting for American goldfinch, remember that the goldfinches are looking for the seeds. That means you can’t deadhead or cut the flowers off after they stop blooming.
- Leave Seedheads Over Winter: If you leave the seedheads on your plants over the winter, American goldfinches will continue to visit them to look for and eat any remaining seeds.
American Goldfinch: Unique Nesting and Feeding Behaviors
The American goldfinch exhibits unique nesting and feeding behaviors that set it apart from other songbirds.
Vegetarian Diet
A wide variety of songbirds primarily eat seeds as adults. However, these same birds will usually have a primarily insect-based diet as nestlings. Insects have more protein than seeds do, and nestlings need lots of protein to grow up strong and fledge from the nest. Without lots of protein-rich insects to eat, the nestlings won’t grow properly and will often die before leaving the nest. The American goldfinch almost exclusively eats seeds throughout its whole life, even as nestlings. It has been classified as one of our most vegetarian songbirds. The young are fed some insects, but not very many. Somehow, even as nestlings, they can get almost all the protein they need to survive from a seed-based diet.
Late Nesting Season
American goldfinches are often found in loose flocks or colonies. Males and females begin to pair up in the spring. Research suggests that the females use the brightness of the male’s feathers and his bill as signals of his health and suitability as a partner. Once they form a pair bond, the male and female develop identical flight calls. Even though they begin forming pair bonds relatively early, they don’t start mating right away. Mating and nesting doesn’t begin until mid to late summer, usually sometime in July or August. This is one of the latest starts to the nesting season of any North American songbird and is another way in which American goldfinch are unique.
Cowbird-Proof Nester
American Goldfinches are "cowbird-proof." When Brown-headed Cowbirds parasitize their nests, any cowbird chicks that hatch usually die of starvation, since the goldfinch hosts feed regurgitated seeds to their young - a diet that fails to meet a cowbird's nutritional requirements.
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