Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria Dark-backed Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, Astragalinus psaltria Jilguero Aliblanco

Lesser Goldfinch Spinus psaltria
(aka Dark-backed Goldfinch, Carduelis psaltria, Astragalinus psaltria)

Colombian name: Jilguero Aliblanco

Lesser Goldfinch, Otún-Quimbaya, Risaralda, Colombia, April 2012 - click for a larger image

Colombia and Peru

The Lesser Goldfinch is distributed from the western USA through Central America to Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. See the distribution map at Birdlife International. It is found in semi-open areas and farmland but tends to favour drier areas.

The male is glossy black above and yellow below with a white patch on the wing and white at the base of the tail. The female is olive above, yellow-olive below but also shows the white patch on the wing.

Some males have a greenish mantle and back as in photo 4.

The song is a rambling series of notes.

Lesser Goldfinch, Balsas, Amazonas, Peru, October 2018 - click for a larger image

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