BIRDS OF NANTUCKET
THITHLE THEED BIRDS
by Kenneth Turner Blackshaw
Recently I held one of these little wonders in my hand. Unfortunately it was recently deceased, having smacked into someone's window. Previously I had been showing the Sunday birders a White-throated Sparrow that had met a similar demise. The sparrow seemed as big as a horse in comparison to this week's delicate little creature.

American Goldfinch

Here we have a tiny bird, only five inches from beak to tail. The illustration shows one looking very 'round,' often the way they appear when the weather is icy cold. This illustrates the effect of avian 'long underwear.' They puff out to produce that layered method for trapping warmer air near the body. People often ask me why the robins are so large at this time of year - long underwear!

We are talking about American Goldfinches, but in February I think of them as 'gray' finches. Right now they are confusing many birders who try and look them up in their bird books. Their gold color is just growing in with a new set of body feathers that will replace the gray over the next six weeks or so. What I'm calling 'gray' is perhaps more accurately an olive brown, shading slightly yellowish near the face. Their wings retain the striking black and white patterns of summer.

Their Latin name is Carduelis tristis, a 'sad' thistle eater. Why Linnaeus decided this bird was sad back in the mid-1700s is anyone's guess. Living in Europe he certainly never saw a live American Goldfinch so perhaps he was looking at a sorry stuffed specimen.

I think the goldfinch's call is quite exuberant, often heard from on high and making one imagine how you might feel if you could be up there with it. Bird books say things like, "sustained, clear, light, canarylike." (Peterson). Or perhaps, "high, musical, rapidly repeated phrases." (Sibley). Or else, "A long series of phrases, given randomly." (American Bird Conservancy). What you must imagine is all these descriptions together because it's not unusual to have 20 goldfinches all in one tree, singing at once. Perhaps there is an 'American Idol' judge somewhere grading them?

The books also describe the goldfinch flight call, "potato-chip," "ti-di-di-di," or "perchikoree." Goldfinches have a rather roller coaster, daredevil sort of flight style, coasting downwards on closed wings, then bounding back up. As they climb they utter that four-syllable call, almost like tennis players grunting as they lunge forward to serve the ball.

"Birding Nantucket" shows American Goldfinches as at least common the year round and very common during migration. But this brings up an interesting question. Do these birds migrate? The answer is, "yes and no!" They are described as partial migrants. Some do and some don't. Also, the journey when they do attempt it is not necessarily north and south. They tend to follow their food supply that is mostly plant seeds. As long as the ground is not deeply covered with snow, they make out just fine.

This takes us back to the title of this column. Goldfinches love thistle seed. You may see it sold as 'Nyjer' seed in the stores. These are very small black seeds and you need a special feeder for them. With a normal feeder, these little black deer ticklike bits will just pour onto the ground. I use one that is like a sock. The birds land on it and peck the seeds out through the mesh.

Amazingly though, these tiny birds handle just about any sort of seed, including sunflower seeds. Blue Jays have to carry sunflower seeds off to beat them into submission by pounding them with their beaks. Goldfinches can sit quite comfortably on a feeder and crack open one after the other, the shells raining to the ground. This gives bird banders a message as well. Don't let them bite you. They get hold of a lose piece of your flesh and just won't let go.

The other thistle connection is when they nest. Most of them wait until July to build their nests

since their favorite material to line the nest is thistle

or cattail down. The tiny nest is usually constructed in an inverted tripod of branches. Since the trees are well leafed out by the time they nest we don't usually discover the nests until winter exposes these little engineering marvels.

It's not too late to get yourself some thistle seed and a feeder. Keep it stocked in your yard and perhaps a flock of goldfinches will find their way to you. Over the next weeks yellow splotches will start to appear on them until by the end of April, the males will knock your eye out with color. They certainly compliment the color of our daffodils. When you see daffodils on the ground, listen for the flying

daffodils above you looking for "potato chips!" I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles. If you enjoy 'social' birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information. To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1-781-259- 8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@comcast. net.