European goldfinch

    Carduelis carduelis

Castilian: Jilguero

Catalan: Cadernera

Gallego: Xílgaro

Euskera: Karnaba

CLASIFICACIÓN:

Orden: Passeriformes

Family: Fringillidae

Migratory status: Permanent resident

CONSERVATION STATUS:

In the 2004 edition of the Red Book of Spanish Birds (Libro Rojo de las Aves de España) it is listed as “Not Evaluated”.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

listen song

THREATS

It is the most pursued and encaged bird for its beautiful plumage and unique song.

Length / size: 12 cm / 21-25,5 cm

Identification: Easily identifiable bird because of its colour pattern. Its face is red and the rest of its head is white and black, its wings are black with a very contrastive wide yellow wing band, and its tail is black, with its rump and the parts of its body furthest away from the middle white.

Song: It makes a very cheerful and characteristic "teek teek teek" call, with a chirping song and rapid trills.

Diet: It feeds on seeds that it extracts from thistles and other herbaceous plants in a very specialised way. It also eats flower buds and arugula seeds.

Reproduction: The breeding period begins in April. The pair positions the nest in high tree branches and both participate in building it, using grass and plant fibres that give it a whitish colour. The female incubates the eggs and the male feeds the chicks.

HABITAT

It occupies a wide variety of areas with a certain amount of tree cover. It is not found above 1,800 metres and prefers a mild climate. It is common in grasslands and other open woods. And it is common to see it perched atop thistles and other plants.

DISTRIBUTION

In Spain: It is distributed throughout the entire peninsula, the archipelagos, Ceuta, and Melilla.

In Castile and León: Widely distributed in all the provinces, with the densent concentrations found in León, Zamora, Salamanca, and Segovia.

Movements and migrations: There are sedentary and migratory populations in the peninsula. The sedentary populations increase in number due to the arrival of European specimens and they migrate locally in search of food. The migrating populations go to Africa and return in March.

POPULATION

In Spain: There is an estimated population of 2.8 million breeding pairs.

In Castile and León: