Goldfinch Family (1956)

[Music] among all the brightly colored birds in North America The Goldfinch is one of the most useful and most admired nearly anyone from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico can see one of these beautiful birds people who have seen a tame Canary call almost any small yellow bird a wild canary actually there are no canaries native to North America this bird for example is a warbler you can tell it's a warbler by the nervous way it hunts for insects in the foliage and by its thin bill in contrast the gold finch like other finches has a thick strong bill for breaking open seeds he's a small bird even shorter than a sparrow in spring and summer the colorful male is Rich yellow with some black and one white wing bar which is sometimes hidden in fall and winter the male looks much like the female she is dull colored with two narrow Wing bars the bars of a young Goldfinch are wider The Goldfinch sings as it flies so you can tell a goldfinch by its color its wing bars and its song what Does The Goldfinch eat throughout the year some of its food is in wetter sunflower seeds in Spring bits of fresh green leaves buds tender seeds dandelion seeds in summer seeds of the goats beard catnip in Autumn seeds of wild hemp sunflowers Ragweed and thistles the thistle is a weed disliked by Farmers Farmers try to destroy thistles and their seeds here is the farmer's friend at work look at had him eat thistle seeds expertly his Stout Bill Clips off a seed see how he cracks open the seed to get at the soft part inside this destruction of harmful thistle seeds alone makes The Goldfinch one of America's most valuable Birds now it's nest building time this is how a female Goldfinch builds her nest of strong plant fibers across a vertical crotch in a tree the fibers are twisted about the branches to keep them from blowing away as she adds material she also shapes the nest for size then she sits in it for long periods of time as if to see if she likes it or to see if dangerous animals or birds are about her nest like most Goldfinch nests is built in late summer after most other birds have raised their families now she makes room for the lining of soft thistle or Willow down and soon it's time for the eggs the number of eggs varies from 3 to 6 this Nest is in a thistle it takes 12 to 14 days to hatch the eggs as the female sits on the nest she often calls to the male here another gold finch is sitting on her nest the male seems to be feeding her he brings food every 40 to 50 minutes ah but look she's feeding the same food to her newly hatched young instead of feeding its young an insect of two at a time like most song birds do The Goldfinch has a different way the parent Goldfinch crams its own own throat with much food then it pumps it out in small portions into the eager waiting mouth the male usually brings seed materials while his mate supplies dark caterpillars and insects after feeding she usually watches until her young quiet down and go to sleep then she slips away for more food here we gently remove moved a newly hatched young bird from its nest to watch him grow at 3 days he's three times as large as when he hatched and has tiny beginnings of feathers at 4 days the black feather spots are a solid streaks at five days the bird is five times the size he was when he hatched feathers showing its wings 6 days old now the eyes open occasionally seven days and the eyes are more often open young goldfinches stay in the nest for 12 to 14 days after hatching unlike most song birds those in the same nest may be of different ages when 10 days old many feathers are still inside round sheets something like soda straws 2 Days Later most sheets have opened so the feathers can spread out now this is the last time they will be fed in the nest now 14 days old they need more strenuous exercise how will they leave the nest will they tumble out and hurt themselves will the parent Birds push them out or carry them away will they boldly fly off these young birds have become venturesome they're beginning to explore the world outside their nest to an Amed male they have flown [Music] even away from home some young birds must be fed for a little while longer food for five goes to two for 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 and so ends the story of The Goldfinch with its home building and its family life it's a story of color and song and Beauty the story of North America's Goldfinch [Music]