5 things you might not know about the goldfinch
There is no bird I love more than the goldfinch. They are my lucky bird, and spotting one eating my bird food blends is what led me to start A Little Bird Company. Here are five things about them that still surprise me.
1. They have a beak like a pair of tweezers
A goldfinch's long, pointed bill is built for picking out small seeds that other birds can't reach, which is why you see them clinging to teasel and thistle heads. Leave the seed heads standing in your garden over autumn and winter, and watch for them bobbing up and down as they feed. The male's beak is slightly longer than the female's, and that's how you can tell them apart, since they look so alike otherwise.
2. The female builds the nest on her own
She usually finishes it within a week. The nest is a neat cup of moss and lichen, lined with soft plant down such as thistledown and held to the twigs with spider silk. The male keeps her company, but he doesn't help with the building.
3. Their chicks start on a mix of seeds and insects
Adult goldfinches eat mainly small seeds, but while they have young they eat insects too. The chicks are fed on a mix of both, and the insects make up less of the menu as they grow. Pairs usually raise two broods a year and sometimes three, with four to six eggs in each.
4. They were once trapped by the thousand
In nineteenth-century Britain, many thousands of goldfinches were caught every year and sold as cage birds for their colour and song. One of the earliest bird protection campaigns in Britain was aimed at stopping the trade. Today they are regular garden visitors, which makes seeing one at the feeder feel even better.
5. Their name goes back to Chaucer
Chaucer was the first to write the English word "goldfinch", in the second half of the fourteenth century. Its Latin name, Carduelis, is linked to Carduus, the thistle family, which tells you how long people have been watching them feed on thistle seeds.
A little goldfinch folklore
People say a goldfinch brings good luck and happiness to anyone who spots one. It's my lucky bird, so I'm happy to agree. Some say they carry messages between this world and the next, and others say they are messengers of love, bringing new relationships and strengthening existing ones.
You'll often find a goldfinch in old paintings of the Madonna and Child, including Raphael's Madonna of the Goldfinch. Some say it's there because it eats thistles, which stood for the crown of thorns, a sign that the child's fate was already known.
A group of goldfinches is called a charm. Some say that comes from the Latin carmen, meaning a magical song, and others from an old English word for the noise of many voices singing at once.
The goldfinch was once known as King Harry redcap, because its plumage looked so regal, like the robes of Henry VIII. In Gaelic it is known as the flame of the wood.
What goldfinches like to eat, and where
Sunflower hearts are a goldfinch favourite, and they are in every one of our seasonal blends. Offer them in a Little Lantern seed feeder filled with our seasonal bird food, and you'll give them a reliable place to stop all year round. If you're not sure which feeder suits your garden, our feeding quiz will point you in the right direction.
You can also plant teasels, and leave the stems of your perennials in place over winter, so there is natural food for them too.
Want to keep track of the goldfinches in your garden? Amidst the Birdsong: A Garden Birdwatcher's Journal is made for exactly that.
Want to read about more garden birds? See all the birds in this series.
