Carduelis tristis

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Fringillidae

A Family of seed-eating, small to moderately large passerine birds that have strong , stubby beaks, which in some species can be quite large. They have a bouncing flight, alternating flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well.

Physical Description

Habitat

Vegetation: arid lowland scrubs, second-growth scrub, tropical lowland evergreen forest, second-growth forests and woodlands, gallery forests • Maximum Elevation: 1,800 meters • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.4Forest - Temperate

Biology

Diet

Primarily: Seeds

Lesser Quantities of: Insects

Reproduction

The short breeding season begins in July and lasts until mid-September. Breeding habitat is typically weedy fields with shrubs , but the Goldfinch will sometimes nest in open woodlands. The female builds a cup-shaped nest less than 1-10 m (1-30 ft ) above ground in a shrubby plant or coniferous tree . The female lays 4 - 6 pale blue eggs , which she incubates for 12-14 days. The male feeds the female on the nest. When the eggs hatch , the female feeds the young regurgitated seeds. Nestlings are altricial and fledge after about 15 days. The parents continue to feed the begging fledglings for up to 3 more weeks. Some females are sequentially polyandrous . After the first brood hatches, the female leaves the brood in care of their father and finds another male for a second nesting attempt.

• Breeding Habitat: Successional-scrub
• Nest Location: Mid-story/canopy nesting
• Nest Type: Open-cup
• Clutch Size: 4-6
• Length of Incubation : 10-12 days
• Days to Fledge: 11-17
• Number of Broods: occasionally 2

Migration

Migratory

Behavior

During the winter, the American Goldfinch migrates. This species often forms large foraging flocks, sometimes with other species, including Chickadees, siskins, and other finches. Preferred foraging areas include weedy and cultivated fields , orchards, and flood plains . The Goldfinch forages mainly on seeds of thistle and other many-seeded flowers, grasses, and deciduous trees . Predators include snakes , birds, cats, and squirrels. The Brown-headed Cowbird sometimes lays one egg in the Goldfinch nest , which reduces Goldfinch clutch size. Although the Cowbird egg usually hatches, the Cowbird nestling usually does not survive, probably because it is not well suited for the diet of seeds.

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Carduelis tristis (Linnaeus) 1758

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Similar Species

Yellow Warbler, Lesser Goldfinch

Members of the genus Carduelis

There are approximately 134 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

C. ambigua · C. ambigua ambigua · C. atrata · C. atriceps (Black-Capped Siskin) · C. barbata · C. barbatus · C. cabaret · C. cannabina · C. cannabina autochthona · C. cannabina bella · C. cannabina cannabina (Linnet) · C. cannabina meadewaldoi · C. cannabina x · C. carduelis (Eurasian Goldfinch) · C. carduelis balcanica · C. carduelis britannica · C. carduelis brittanica · C. carduelis caniceps · C. carduelis carduelis (Eurasian Goldfinch) · C. carduelis elegan · C. carduelis major · C. carduelis niediecki · C. carduelis paropanisi · C. carduelis parva · C. carduelis propeparva · C. carduelis schiebeli · C. carduelis ssp · C. carduelis subulata · C. carduelis tschusii · C. carduellis · C. carduellis balcanica · C. carduellis rumaniae · C. chloris · C. chloris aurantiiventris · C. chloris chlorotica · C. chloris harrisoni · C. chloris turkestanika · C. chloris vanmarli · C. chloris voousi · C. chloris x · C. citrinella · C. citrinella corsicana · C. corsicana · C. crassirostris · C. crassirostris amadoni · C. crassirostris crassirostris · C. cucullata (Red Siskin) · C. deichleri · C. dominicensis · C. flammea (Common Redpoll) · C. flammea cabaret (Common Redpoll) · C. flammea carbaret · C. flammea exilipes · C. flammea flammea · C. flammea holboellii · C. flammea hornemanni · C. flammea rostrata · C. flavirostris · C. flavirostris flavirostris · C. flavirostris miniakensis · C. flavirostris pipilans · C. flavirostris rufostrigata · C. hornemanni (Hoary Redpoll) · C. hornemanni exilipes · C. hornemanni hornemanni (Hoary Redpoll) · C. johannis (Warsangli Linnet) · C. lawrencei (Lawrence's Goldfinch) · C. lawrencii · C. linaria · C. magellanica · C. magellanica alleni · C. magellanica boliviana · C. magellanica capitalis · C. magellanica hoyi · C. magellanica icterica · C. magellanica ictericus · C. magellanica magellanica · C. magellanica paula · C. magellanica peruana · C. magellanica urubambensis · C. monguilloti (Vietnam Greenfinch) · C. nipalensis · C. notata · C. notata forreri · C. notata notata · C. notata oleacea · C. olivacea · C. orientalis · C. pinus (Pine Siskin) · C. pinus macroptera · C. pinus macropterus · C. pinus perplexa · C. pinus pinus · C. psaltria (Lesser Goldfinch) · C. psaltria colombiana · C. psaltria colombianus · C. psaltria columbiana · C. psaltria hesperophila · C. psaltria hesperophilus · C. psaltria jouyi

Bibliography

• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 17, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 16 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, and quot;Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds, and quot; in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Pippen, Jeffrey S. Jeff's Nature Page. Accessed December 2, 2007.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 17, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Colorado Museum: Zoological specimens
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3850094
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-202306
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13819655
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179236
• IUCN ID: 53442
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBY06110
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 205

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