Goldfinch - songbird

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:53

Goldfinch is a small bird, but unusually bright and beautiful. The colorful plumage of the songbird, which is difficult to confuse with any other birds, cannot but attract attention.

Description

The goldfinch bird, whose average length reaches 12 centimeters, belongs to the family of finches, the order of passerines. The bird has a small slender body, the mass of which is about 20-25 grams. The following colors predominate in the colorful outfit of the bird: a brown back, a bright red muzzle with a wide ring around the beak, yellow-lemon stripes on the wings, and white dots on the tail and black wings. Young representatives of this species do not have a red ring, and there are small mottles on the back and chest. Compared to the plumage of males, the plumage of females is duller. It can only be seen upon closer inspection. The goldfinch is a songbird, whose varied singing consists of more than 20 types of voiced trills.

Habitat

Goldfinch is a fairly common bird, and its habitat is quite diverse: all of Europe, Asia Minor and Western Asia, North Africa, some regions of Siberia. Deciduous groves, clearings and fruit orchards serve as the main places for the resettlement of birds. Often a goldfinchsettles in tree plantations of the cultural landscape, sparse and floodplain forests. The goldfinch is a bird that is not afraid of people, therefore it can often be found in the village and parks, less often in cities.

Goldfinch, whose photo is striking in its small size and beautiful plumage, is a granivorous bird. A favorite food for colorful birds are burdock and thistle seeds, which he extracts with his beak, as well as sunflower seeds. Birds feed their chicks with various insects, mainly aphids, which brings significant benefits to agriculture in pest control.

Reproduction

Flocks of goldfinches begin to pair up and occupy nesting sites at the very beginning of April. The bird's nest is an elegant structure, created in the form of a cup, on which dense walls of stems are located, fastened with a web of roots. Outside the nest is decorated with moss and lichens. After the skillful construction of the nest is completed, the female goldfinch begins to lay eggs, which incubate for about 12-13 days. The hatched chicks remain in the nest for about two weeks. After the departure of the chicks, which is observed in mid-June, the goldfinches continue to feed them for a week, and then they begin to start the second laying of eggs.

Caged content

Often, goldfinches, which are a popular house bird along with the siskin, are often kept in cages because of their colorful exotic attire. They catch colorful birds using a bait consisting of theirfavorite food - burdock seeds. Once at home, at first the goldfinch is not very welcoming and friendly, like a siskin, but gradually gets used to people and becomes tame. The goldfinch is a smart bird, it can be easily trained in various actions and tricks. Living at home, males sing all year round, except for the molting period, bringing joy to their master.