#spinustristis

A goldfinch from this summer. #americangoldfinch #spinustristis https://www.instagram.com/p/BrOBHtqBGmj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1158xgmt6or1j

American goldfinch / Chardonneret jaune / Spinus tristis #AmericanGoldfinch #ChardonneretJaune #SpinusTristis #BirdsOfGeorgia #GeorgiaBirds #Birds #BirdsOfInstragram #Birdstagram #BirdPhotography #Audubon #AudubonSociety #Birding #SandySpringsGA (at Sandy Springs, Georgia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpXC4q7upCf/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

"American Goldfinches are active, acrobatic finches that balance on the seedheads of thistles, dandelions, and other plants to pluck seeds. They have a bouncy flight during which they frequently make their po-ta-to-chip calls. Although males sing exuberantly during spring, pairs do not nest until mid-summer, when thistles and other weeds have gone to seed." (The CornellLab of Ornithology). #americangoldfinch #spinustristis #thistle (at Sweet Briar College Historic District) https://www.instagram.com/p/CC85Ib5ly8A/?igshid=nvtrhfwku8my

#americangoldfinch #spinustristis #thistle #breedingseason #virginiawildlife (at Sweet Briar College Historic District) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCcoh2AloDS/?igshid=dxjrm471e55s

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) Western Pennsylvania, USA .. .. #AmericanGoldfinch #Spinus_tristis #Spinustristis #finch #birdinflightphotography #frascarelliphotography #birdinflight #@frascarelli https://www.instagram.com/p/B-YfJTLhlCH/?igshid=barssrecugc1

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) Western Pennsylvania, USA 03/29/2020 .. .. #AmericanGoldfinch #Spinus_tristis #Spinustristis #finch #birdinflightphotography #frascarelliphotography #birdinflight #@frascarelli https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Yfh8Kh84Y/?igshid=1dhreh6q7mrz0

American Goldfinch showing signs of spring (in a snowstorm). #americangoldfinch #vtbirds #signsofspring #backyardbirds #spinustristis #strictvegetarian (at Birds of Vermont Museum)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) thrives near humans. We clear forests creating seedy weedy places; we put out bird feeders filled with thistle seed, that they then disperse everywhere (I'm constantly weeding it out of my gardens because of this); and our decorative grasses and flowers, and in this case, sunflowers, provide buffets of good eating. Its beak is conical - see how it cracked the sunflower seed hull in the top photo, with the meat of the seed easily munched. The assumed earliest specimens of sunflowers, aka Helianthus annuus, dated 2300 BC, were found in Tennessee, but recently older specimens were found in Tabasco, Mexico, dated 2600 BC. Both are in the migratory patterns of goldfinches. This is an ancient relationship I entered into when I planted the parents of these sunflowers last year at the farm at Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philly. These messy eaters are making sure it continues, by dropping plenty of seed for next year's crop while they eat. This has become a seed saving technique for me: let the birds handle it. #goldfinch #spinustristis #sunflower #helianthusannuus #ooloi #seeddistribution #seedsaving