British wildlife recordings

Carduelis carduelis : Goldfinch - Fringillidae

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  • Type

    sound

  • Duration

    00:03:03

  • Shelf mark

    W1CDR0001491 BD15

  • Subjects

    Birds

  • Recording date

    1976/07/25

  • Recording locations

    Cowley, Gloucestershire: OS Grid Reference(396500,214500)

  • Recordist

    Williams, Aubrey John

  • Species

    Goldfinch, Carduelis carduelis

  • Description

    This is a recording of a male goldfinch singing at Cowley in Gloucestershire. It is the striking red, black and white head and gold patches on the wings of this species that makes it instantly recognisable. This is a common breeding bird found throughout Britain but is relatively scarce in the far north of Scotland. Many of these birds will move south during the winter months to countries such as Belgium, France and the western Mediterranean and will return sometime around the end of March. The goldfinch likes a prickly environment and will winter and breed wherever thistles, burdock and teasels grow. They use their long fine beaks to extract seeds from these plants but will also eat insects. These sociable birds often breed in loose colonies and are well known for their light, liquid, twittering song with lots of trilled sections and twittering calls.

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