Spot Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)

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Lesser Goldfinches are tiny, stub-billed songbirds with long, pointed wings, and notched tails. Males are bright yellow below with a glossy black cap and white patches in the wings; their backs can be glossy black or dull green. They have a black tail with large, white corners. Females and immatures have olive backs, dull yellow underparts, and black wings marked by two whitish wingbars. Diet and behavioral habits: This common year-round resident, the Lesser Goldfinches feed in weedy fields, budding treetops, and the brush of open areas and edges. The majority of diet of all seasons consists of seeds, such as thistle and wild sunflower, also seeds of various weeds. They also feed on flowers and buds of trees (such as cottonwoods) and on some berries. They will also eat some insects, especially in summer, mainly small ones such as aphids Nesting habits: The nest is usually placed in vertical fork of twigs in shrub or tree, 5-30' above the ground, sometimes higher in tree or very low in bushes or dense weeds. Nest (built mostly or entirely by female) is a compact open cup woven of grass, plant fibers, and strips of bark, lined with plant down.

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