American Goldfinch Maneuvers for Food

While most of us would be pretty uncomfortable eating upside down, this American Goldfinch considers it to be just a routine maneuver to get a meal. Being able to maneuver through a thick patch of wildflowers is easier if you're open to creative positioning. (Being small helps too.)

A male American Goldfinch in breeding plumage has a shockingly bright yellow appearance. To get such a bright yellow look, they've got a secret: their feathers are yellow at the ends but white closer to the body. This means that any sunlight that gets through the yellow feathering tends to reflect back out again. The book What It's Like to Be a Bird by Sibley describes it as "the feathers of a goldfinch essentially form a translucent yellow film with backlighting".

September 29, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 248786468, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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