Lesser Goldfinch

Western Lesser Goldfinch 

(Carduelistristis)

Photographed in the wild, Dana Point, California    Nov 2008

The Lesser Goldfinch is a small, seed-eating finch of the Southwest. It comes in two forms: a dark-backed one in Texas, and the greenish-backed one farther westward into California.

The eastern Male Lesser Goldfinches in the United States tend to have black backs and napes. Those found to the west have green backs and only a black cap. South of central Mexico, all the males are black-backed.

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