Male Lawrence’s Goldfinch
Gold comes in many forms–in nuggets, flakes, and veins. It also comes in birds.
One of the cutest little finches has got to be the Lawrence’s goldfinch. It’s gold is not the brilliant blaze of an American goldfinch, an almost neon beauty, but rather more subdued, with just wing and breast patches of yellow in its mostly-gray feathering. Not much longer than your longest finger, this little lemon freshet of song exuberantly trills, buzzes, chirps, and tweets wherever it is; and right now, it is here.
Core Lawrence’s goldfinch country is along coastal California for about 150 miles north and south of San Diego. In winter some will explore across the arid southwest as far east as El Paso. In spring some will flutter north as far as Redding.
Here they feast on the bounty of spring wildflower seeds, packed with proteins and solar energy locked in by the plants. A goldfinch favorite is fiddlenecks, whose golden blooms deck our oak savannah meadows. The lucky observer will see a goldfinch perched right on the flimsy flower stalk, riding it tipsily as she reaches into the flower cup for breakfast.
Fiddleneck
Wherever they roam, Lawrence’s goldfinches customarily travel in flocks and, like many finches, often wander nomadically. When settling down to nest, they invariably select a building site near a water source. Along a spring rivulet through a flowered meadow is perfect. There the flock begins to break up as nesting pairs form, although they often choose to nest in a sort of neighborhood.
Lawrence’s Goldfinch Female
Courtship includes perching close to each other, calling, and then beak-touching, wing-fluttering, singing, and feeding. Mated pairs continue much of their courting behavior. She builds a nest of soft plant parts, fur, and feathers, typically about ten feet above ground, and there lays her handful of eggs. She tends them assiduously, hiding them beneath her subdued coloring, keeping them close to her warmth, almost never leaving. Her little mate defends the area close around the nest, and brings her food, supporting her dedicated incubation. When she does leave the nest, he assumes incubation duties.
Lawrence’s Goldfinch Nest
Both parents gather insects to feed their helpless young, and then, if all goes well, reform their flocks to roam the meadows of their west-coast world. As home to these little finches, California is indeed the Golden State.