tiz-aves:[Species] | European goldfinchThe European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), locally referre

tiz-aves:[Species] | European goldfinchThe European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), locally referred to simply as goldfinch, is a small passerine and a member of the true finch family, known as fringilidae. Originally this species only occured in North Africa, Europe and central Asia, but throughout time humans have introduced it to Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay as well. In addition to those places, it also has been introduced to the Americas, but there it isn’t yet recognised as a wild species.Individuals range in length somewhere inbetween 12 to 15 centimetres, can have a wingspan of up to 25 centimetres and weigh a minimum of 17 grams. Although males and females may appear to look identical, males typically have a larger and darker red face. The black and white head, warm brown upper parts, white underparts, and black and yellow wings however are identical with both sexes.European goldfinches breed in various kinds of woolands, orchards, thickets and urban areas such as parks and gardens, with them having a relatively high tolerance towards human disturbance.They predominantly feed on small seeds from plants like thistles, teasels and others. Like many other birds, they take insects during breeding season to feed their young. During the winter they are also among the birds to regularly visit bird feeders, which sometimes they do in larger groups.The female builds the nest from moss, rootlets, dry grasses, lichens, wool and plant down. There it lays 5 to 6 bluish eggs which it incubates for about 12 to 14 days. During this period, it is fed by the male. Although chicks fledge after 13 to 18 days after hatching, they’re reliant on their parents for some days more.The two main reasons that European goldfinches have experiences declines during the 20th century are not only their high-popularity as a cage bird, resuliting in illegal trapping, but also the heightened use of pesticides in agriculture, often poisoning the birds themselves. Now their populations have stabilisied, since they have widely been assigned a protcted status, and the IUCN classifies them as a species of least concern.Photo credits: Maria A -- source link

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