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Lawrence's Goldfinch

Carduelis lawrenceiOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Finches (Fringillidae)

Lawrence's Goldfinch Portrait
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General

Lawrence's Goldfinch: Small finch with gray nape and back and yellow-gray rump. Underparts are white; breast is yellow. Cap and face are black. Wings are dark with bright yellow bars. Females lack black facial markings. Winter adults are duller. Juvenile has streaked underparts.

Range and Habitat

Lawrence's Goldfinch: Breeds in central and southern California, west of Sierra Nevada and south into Baja California. Spends winters south and east to extreme western Texas. Found near dry grassy slopes with weed patches, chaparral, and open woodlands.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"tink-tink-tink"

Interesting Facts

  • The Lawrence's Goldfinch was named by John Cassin in 1850 for his colleague George Newbold Lawrence, a New York businessman and ornithologist.
  • Unlike most migratory birds, they move mostly to the east and west, rather than northward and southward, between seasons.
  • This species is remarkably homogenous, with no known subspecies and, according to one study, no genetic variation among birds tested at 23 different locations.
  • A group of goldfinches has many collective nouns, including a " 007", "charm", "rush", "treasury", and "vein" of goldfinches.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Lawrence's Goldfinch
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Carduelis lawrencei
Length4.75 Inches
Wingspan8.25 Inches

Lawrence's Goldfinch

Lawrence's Goldfinch: Small finch with gray nape and back and yellow-gray rump. Underparts are white; breast is yellow. Cap and face are black. Wings are dark with bright yellow bars. Feeds on seeds and insects. Swift bounding flight, alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled briefly to sides.

● Song: "tink-tink-tink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Lawrence's Goldfinch: Eats seeds and insects; forages in foliage and on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Lawrence's Goldfinch: Four or five light blue, sometimes brown spotted eggs are laid in a tightly woven cup nest set in a low tree or bush. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Lawrence's Goldfinch: Lesser Goldfinch has an olive-green back, yellow rump, and yellow-green underparts.

Flight Pattern

High swift bounding flight with rapid wing beats.
Lawrence's Goldfinch Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Lawrence's Goldfinch: Breeds in central and southern California, west of Sierra Nevada and south into Baja California. Spends winters south and east to extreme western Texas. Found near dry grassy slopes with weed patches, chaparral, and open woodlands.
BreedingMonogamous, Loose colonies
PopulationFairly common
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight0.4 Ounces