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American Goldfinch


American Goldfinch
Photo Information
Copyright: Mario Belanger (EOSF1) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1381 W: 126 N: 5246] (23469)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-11-06
Categories: Birds
Camera: Canon EOS 40D, Canon EF 100-400 F4-5.6 L IS USM, ISO 400, B+W 77 010 UV-Haze 1 x
Exposure: f/6.3, 1/200 seconds
Details: Tripod: Yes (Fill) Flash: Yes
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Pentaxfriend's favorites 2 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-11-15 7:19
Viewed: 764
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 52
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note [French]
They're back in the garden with their winter colors, the American Goldfinches!

(Carduellis tristis, 13 cm)

From: www.birds.cornell.edu

A familiar and abundant small colorful bird, the American Goldfinch is frequently found in weedy fields and visiting feeders. It shows a particular fondness for thistles, eating the seeds and using the down to line its nest.
Description
Small bird.
Bill small, pointed, conical, and pink.
Body bright yellow to dull brown.
Wings dark with large white wingbars.
Tail short and notched.
Breeding male bright yellow with black cap and wings.
Size: 11-13 cm (4-5 in)
Wingspan: 19-22 cm (7-9 in)
Weight: 11-20 g (0.39-0.71 ounces)
Sex Differences
Summer male is bright yellow with a black cap whereas female is drab olive. Sexes similar and drab in winter.
Sound
Song a long series of twittering and warbling notes. Common contact call a "tsee-tsi-tsi-tsit," often given in flight. May be described as "per-chic-o-ree" or "po-ta-to-chip."
Conservation Status
Abundant and widespread. Populations appear stable.
Other Names
Chardonneret jaune (French)
Dominiquito viajero, Dominiquito triste (Spanish)
Cool Facts
The American Goldfinch changes from winter plumage to breeding plumage by a complete molt of its body feathers. It is the only member of its family to have this second molt in the spring; all the other species have just one molt each year in the fall.
The American Goldfinch is one of the latest nesting birds. It usually does not start until late June or early July, when most other songbirds are finishing with breeding. The late timing may be related to the availability of suitable nesting materials and seeds for feeding young.
The American Goldfinch is gregarious throughout the year. In winter it is found almost exclusively in flocks. In the breeding season it feeds in small groups. Whether it maintains breeding territories is debatable.
The American Goldfinch is mostly monogamous, but a number of females switch mates after producing a first brood. The first male takes care of the fledglings while the female goes off to start another brood with a different male.

siggi, jconceicao, cicindela, jaycee, Evelynn, angela926, nglen, Juyona, CeltickRanger, Pentaxfriend, eqshannon, crs, horia, albert, matatur, pierrefonds has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • siggi Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1373 W: 56 N: 4723] (16252)
  • [2008-11-15 7:21]

Hello Mario,
Wonderful shot! Razorsharp details, excellent colors and great POV & compostion. I really like the angle of the twig and the way the bird is hanging on to it. Well done!
Regards Siggi

Hello Mario,

Another fantastic photo of this beautiful bird.
Colours and focus are splendid.
Lighting and definition are superb.

Beautiful picture Mario! So clear and colourful! I like a lot details and amazing DOF. Bravo for another great bird picture!
Friendly yours,
Radomir

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2493 W: 11 N: 6885] (21912)
  • [2008-11-15 9:57]

Hi Mario,

A beautiful Goldfinch captured perfectly in a wonderful pose on the branch. The face, wings and plummage are superb with marvelous colors and sharp details. I love the golden background. The composition is lovely.

Jane

I'll never understand how you so often get the background colors to repeat the colors in your subjects. It's a lovely, simple composition.

TFS
Evelynn : )

Hello Mario,
Great capture, beautiful colors and excelletn details, superb sharpness and depth of field, lovely light and very nice oof gold background.
Angela

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2908 W: 34 N: 8625] (32146)
  • [2008-11-15 11:44]

Hi Mario. The use of the flash and a tripod has given you a sharp picture of the little Goldfinch. Great detail and bright colours. with a nice pose on the branch. the feathers match the BG. well done tFS.
Nick..

  • Great 
  • Juyona Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2262 W: 10 N: 2630] (15565)
  • [2008-11-15 12:32]

Hola amigo,
interesante pose y pov,
finos colores y atractiva captura,
saludos

Hi Mario,
this atmosphere is so wonderful, the colours so warm, the bird so beautiful - just perfect again, thanks
Sabine - wishnugaruda

Hi Mario,
Very beautiful capture of this American Goldfinch. You have excellent pose and POV, great composition and sharp details.
TFS
Pekka

salut Mario

toujours aussi belle tes photographies d'oiseau
avec à chaque fois un nouveau décor un nouveau superbe background,
excellent POV et cadrage, belle pose de l'oiseau,
j'aime ce tons de couleurs qui tire sur le jaune, TFS

Asbed

Hello Mario

A beautiful portrait of this cute goldfinch.
The colours are amazing.
The DOF is excellent and the OOF BG is amazing.
Well focused with sharp detail.
Well composed in a natural setting.
Another gem.
TFS

Wolf

Hi Mario,

Again a beautifull shot
Excellent composition with Superb sharpness and lovely colors
Perfect POV, DOF and BG

TFS Thijs

I was very unaware that they changed colours in winter...which is kind of neat info..I have noticed that they also get a lot more hungry in late fall and I am running low on cash for bird seed..but I will feed what I can and let the rest fend for themselves...
Bob

  • Great 
  • crs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 523 W: 0 N: 920] (3543)
  • [2008-11-15 22:15]

Hello mario,

What a nice photo of the bird you have made! Image is very sharp showing well bird's plumage. I also like the wey you have shown the texture of the perch beneath the bird. Plumage colors blends in a nice way with the background.

Thank you for sharing,
Cristian

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2172 W: 218 N: 4383] (14902)
  • [2008-11-15 22:52]

Hi Mario

Yet another gerat close-up from you, my friend!
Excellent pose captured here from the goldfinch and together with your POV allowed a very good angle for all the details and the winter colors to be well visible.
Great work with the exposure again, and thanks to that you also have a superb BG.

Bravo and TFS
Horia

  • Great 
  • PeterZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2388 W: 94 N: 5521] (17576)
  • [2008-11-16 3:28]

Hello Mario,
What a beauty! The photo as well as the bird. Splendid natural colours and a lovely pose. The details are excellent. POV, composition and BG superb. Very beautiful atmosphere.
Regards,
Peter

hello mario,
excellent capture of the American Goldfinch, the colors, the contrast, the pov , the composition are managed so well, all in all a beautiful post,
well done as usual,
tfs & regards
pankaj

  • Great 
  • izler Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 1399 W: 3 N: 30] (504)
  • [2008-11-16 4:37]

merhaba Mario
wonderful capture of this cute species
POV, BG, light, colours and sharpness are great
TFS
regards
izler

Bonjour Mario,
Superbe photo, belle composition, superbes couleurs et focus
Bravo
Albert

Hi Mario,
This is indeed a fine reproduction of a Carduelis perfectly defined in beautiful colours and plumage pattern against a brilliantly chosen BG, TFS this fine image my friend.
Cheers,
Mehmet

Olá Mario

Excelente composição.
Cores adoráveis deste lindo pássaro.
Gostei muito, meus parabéns!
Grande abraço,
Vera

  • Great 
  • joey Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2001 W: 226 N: 6845] (24727)
  • [2008-11-16 10:46]

Hi Mario,
an excellent shot of this American Goldfinch.
The golden BG is brilliant!
Superb sharpness.
Great composition.

Very well done,
Joe

Bonjour Mario,
Il est magnifique dans ses pâles couleurs d'hiver. La composition est excellente ainsi que l'exposition et les détails précis comme d'habitude. L'ensemble est très harmonieux avec un background qui semble avoir été fait sur mesure pour se marier parfaitement à ses couleurs. Bravo!
Claudine

Bonjour Mario,
Belle prise de vue de ce chardonneret jaune, composition , netteté et couleurs ...Magnifique...
Salutations.
Michel

Bonjour Mario,

Le chardonneret jaune sur la branche est impressionnant. La prise de vue permet de distinguer avec précision les détails et les couleurs de l'oiseau. Il est bien cadré dans la composition. L'intensité de la lumière fait ressortir les couleurs. Bonne journée.

Pierre

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