Volume 24, Plate XVI / Ornithology (Birds)

Common Goldfinch

Carduelis elegans

The Common Goldfinch is one of the most beautiful British birds, the male crimson on the face, black on the nape and crown, yellowish brown on the back, with a rich yellow wing bar and white tipped black wings and tail. Generally distributed though never abundant, it nests neatly in gardens and shrubberies, gathers in small winter parties feeding on thistle and other seeds, and is prized as a docile, cheerful cage bird.