American goldfinch
Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758)
The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is a species in the family Fringillidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 12.6 g to 13.1 g and live up to 10.7 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the American goldfinch
- Weight
- 12.6 g – 13.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 10.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 13 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 11.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the American goldfinch
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the American goldfinch live?
Not recorded
What is the American goldfinch?
The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter.
The only finch in its subfamily to undergo a complete molt, the American goldfinch displays sexual dichromatism: the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate.
The American goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social bird and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. It may behave territorially during nest construction, but this aggression is short-lived. Its breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. This species is generally monogamous and produces one brood each year.
Human activity has generally benefited the American goldfinch. It is often found in residential areas because it is attracted to bird feeders, which increase its survival rate in these areas. Deforestation also creates open meadow areas, which are its preferred habitat.
From the Wikipedia article “American goldfinch” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_goldfinch&oldid=1381182276), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the American goldfinch sound like?
Is the American goldfinch endangered?
The American goldfinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the American goldfinch classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyFringillidae
- genusSpinus
- SpeciesSpinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Astragalinus tristis, Carduelis americana, Carduelis tristis, Fringilla olivacea, Fringilla tristis
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Golden finchEnglish
- طير الشوكArabic
- حسون أمريكيArabic
- حسون الشرقيArabic
- GóidzoasigBavarian
- Американски щиглецBulgarian
- cadernera americanaCatalan
- ᏩᏓᎬCherokee
- čížek žlutýCzech
- nico AmericaWelsh
- GuldsiskenDanish
- GoldzeisigGerman
- Αμερικανική ΚαρδερίναGreek
- amerika kardeloEsperanto
- Jilguero yanquiSpanish
- Jilguerito CanarioSpanish
- Jilguero canarioSpanish
- Jilguero YanquíSpanish
- kuldsiisikeEstonian
- سهره طلایی آمریکاییPersian
- amerikantikliFinnish
- Tarin jauneFrench
- Chardonneret jauneFrench
- Lasair MheiriceánachIrish
- Lossey AmericaanaghManx
- zlatni čižakCroatian
- aranycsízHungarian
- lucherino americanoItalian
- Cardellino americanoItalian
- オウゴンヒワJapanese
- 황금방울새Korean
- amerikinis alksninukasLithuanian
- zelta dadzītisLatvian
- Tsídiiłtsooí bitʼaʼ łizhinígííNavajo
- GoudsijsDutch
- TreursijsDutch
- gulstillitsNorwegian
- czyż złotawyPolish
- lugre-americanoPortuguese
- pintassilgo-americanoPortuguese
- Американский чижRussian
- stehlík zlatýSlovak
- Zlatni američki čižakSerbian
- Амерички златни штиглићSerbian
- guldsiskaSwedish
- Altın İsketeTurkish
- Amerika SakasıTurkish
- чиж золотийUkrainian
- Sẻ thông vàng châu MỹVietnamese
- 北美金翅雀Chinese
- 美洲金翅雀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the American goldfinch
Other species in the same genus Spinus.
Eurasian siskin
Spinus spinus
Red siskin
Spinus cucullatus
Black siskin
Spinus atratus
Pine siskin
Spinus pinus
Lawrence's goldfinch
Spinus lawrencei
Lesser goldfinch
Spinus psaltria
CompareAmerican goldfinch vs Eurasian siskinAmerican goldfinch vs Red siskinAmerican goldfinch vs Black siskinAmerican goldfinch vs Pine siskin
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the American goldfinch?
An adult American goldfinch weighs 12.6 g – 13.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the American goldfinch endangered?
The American goldfinch is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the American goldfinch live?
The American goldfinch has a recorded lifespan of 10.7 years.
What kind of animal is the American goldfinch?
The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis) belongs to the family Fringillidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). American goldfinch (Spinus tristis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-goldfinch
“American goldfinch (Spinus tristis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-goldfinch.
@misc{american_goldfinch_2026,
title = {American goldfinch (Spinus tristis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-goldfinch},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}