The European Goldfinch (Parva) – Carduelis carduelis parva is a small passerine bird in the finch family.
Habitat:
Goldfinches are found in several types of habitat, including cultivated areas, areas with vegetation, patches of exotic or indigenous forest and the outskirts of human settlements. In Madeira archipelago this species is found from the sea-shore up to the high grounds on both islands of Madeira and Porto Santo
The Goldfinch, a Macaronesian subspecies, is identifiable by its bright, varied colors. It is a medium-small finch with a long, sharply pointed bill. The head of the adult is red, white and black and it has black wings with a broad yellow panel and a yellow band along the length of the back of its body and a black tail with white spots at tip. Adult female: as male, but red on face extends only to eye. Juveniles are differentiated by their grey head and light brown plumage.
Song:
The song is a pleasant silvery twittering. The call is a melodic tickeLIT, and the song is a pleasant tinkling medley of trills and twitters, but always including the trisyllabic call phrase or a teLLIT-teLLIT-teLLIT. European Goldfinches Parva are one of the best singing european goldfinches.
Breeding:
Goldfinches nest in the outer twigs of tall leafy trees, or even in bamboo, laying four to six eggs, which hatch in 11–14 days.
Diet:
Good canary seed blend and nyger.