American Goldfinch Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Song
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New York, May 03, 2020Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library
Song
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New York, May 11, 2020Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library
Song
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West Virginia, April 07, 2020Recorded by Wil Hershberger / Macaulay Library
Song
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West Virginia, March 26, 2018Recorded by Wil Hershberger / Macaulay Library
Calls
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New York, May 21, 1981Recorded by David Sibley / Macaulay Library
Calls
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New York, July 26, 2020Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Vermont, July 05, 2019Recorded by Christopher McPherson / Macaulay Library
Calls
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New York, September 04, 2017Recorded by Brad Walker / Macaulay Library
Calls
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New York, September 04, 2017Recorded by Brad Walker / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Colorado, October 31, 2009Recorded by Nathan Pieplow
Calls
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Kansas, April 19, 2020Recorded by Gregg Friesen / Macaulay Library
Juvenile calls
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New York, September 09, 2018Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library
Juvenile calls
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New York, October 03, 2017Recorded by Jay McGowan / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

Males sing a long and variable series of twitters and warbles that can be several seconds long. The notes and phrases are variable and repeated in a seemingly random order. Birds continue to learn song patterns throughout life.

Calls

The American Goldfinch’s most common call is its contact call, often given in flight. It sounds like the bird is quietly saying po-ta-to-chip with a very even cadence. Birds sometimes give harsh threat calls when in feeding flocks or at the nest. Males make a tee-yee courtship call upon landing near a female in spring or early summer, often followed by a burst of song. Females brooding nestlings make a rapid sequence of high notes when they hear their mate approaching with food. Birds at their nest make a loud, two-parted bay-bee call if they feel threatened.