(Carduelis tristis)
Summer
Year-round
Winter
HABITAT: When breeding in late summer, favors weedy fields with thistles and other composites; during winter feeds at backyard feeders
DESCRIPTION: Breeding male lemon-yellow overall with black cap, black wings, and tail with some white; small, conical bill and short, notched tail; female’s and male’s winter plumage duller overall
Throughout the winter, goldfinches often call as they commute overhead. Watch the flock pass, each bird in its own undulating flight rhythm, bouncing up on a few rapid wing beats and a per-chik’-o-ree call, gliding down on folded wings, as the flock bounds buoyantly by. The call is a distinctive, typically descending series of musical notes, often four syllables with the second accented, though the call varies slightly among birds.
Early spring flocks gather in the treetops, and the songfest begins. They sing long, rambling songs as if competing with one another; their sounds are so variable and intricate, so canary-like, with some repeated musical phrases separated by what is best described as a jumbled twittering. Every so often each male punctuates his song with a distinctive thin, wiry whistle that rises in pitch, as if inquiring, Sei silieeee? By June, the chases are on, and the male follows the female in rapid, erratic flight. Intriguingly, as birds pair, the details of their per-chik’-o-ree call converge, so that if we had the fine-tuned ears of a goldfinch, we could listen and identify mates within the larger flock.
Look for these birds in late June and early July among the goldenrods and asters, the thistles and chicory; males circle above their territories and sing nonstop, their slow, deep wing beats making them look twice their size, like a large yellow-and-black singing butterfly. The female chooses the nest site and builds her nest, while the male often sings relatively short songs beside her or courts her with his sexy sei silieeee. As she incubates, he makes repeated trips to feed her, and she monitors his coming and going by the unique version of the per-chik’-o-ree flight call that they share.
Per-chik’-o-ree and sei silieeee call mixed in with song Calls: sei silieeee and per-chik’-o-ree 
