A European Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis, on a twig of plum blossom.
Goldfinches are small, brightly coloured finches with a bright yellow patch on their wing – which gives them their name – and bright red on their faces. Young Goldfinches don’t have red faces.
They have quite fine beaks for finches, especially towards the tip. These beaks are adapted for tweezing seeds out of plants like teasels and thistles. Their scientific name, Carduelis, is derived from the Latin word for thistle: ‘Carduus’. They like niger seed presented in specialist feeders in the garden, but are also happy to eat sunflower hearts.
This photo is copyright © Liz Leyden, all rights reserved.
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