FERME DE MORILLARD
GABILLEAU Frédéric et Valérie
Le Haut de Morillard - 41190 Lancôme

CHARDONNERET ELEGANT / EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH

(Carduelis carduelis)

The name, goldfinch, refers to the yellow of the wings.

There are two German names: the first is Distelfink, Thistle Chaffinch, the second is Stieglitz which comes from its «sticlitt» cry.

MORPHOLOGY / FLIGHT

Length: 14 cm - weight: 14 to 18 gr - longevity: 8 years

Short undulations

HABITAT

Hedged farmland, parks and gardens, edges and clearings of mixed forests.

FOOD

The goldfinch is essentially granivorous.

It looks for small seeds (thistles, cornflowers, burdocks, groundsel ...) that it finds mainly in wasteland and grass.

However, the young are fed on insects.

NEST

The nest is located at the end of a branch, a bifurcation in a shrub, always low in height and well hidden in the foliage.

The goldfinch’s nest is built with great care: it is a small deep cup, made up of herbaceous stems and lined with down and feathers.

The female lays 4 to 5 eggs, which she incubates alone for 12 to 14 days.

STATUS

Protected species

MIGRATION

Partial Migrant

PRESENCE

All year

BECOMING

Threatened and declining.

France has lost half of its goldfinches in the last 15 years.

One of the causes is the decline in numbers of wild herbs from which they consume the seeds.

SIZE : Small