Carduelis Tristis/American Goldfinch

[BigBear0007]

Got this guy yesterday, it's an American Goldfinch, Carduelis Tristis. It went into a friends pigeon coop last fall looking for food. It's left was injured and it was that years baby. Luckily it was eating fine and my friend cared for it 8 months. It can fly a little but not enough to survive, more like a bounce and fly! As you can see he is going through his moult and by the end of April he should be in full colour. Look at the picture below of what he will look like.
Before everybody gets all unglued and hoes off on me for keeping a wild bird! Remember I'm keeping alive, because it would be dead by now in the wild. Also it's no different than getting European goldfinches from Australia, that are wild caught. It's eating well, I have a fantastic Siskin mix I feed my own finches, with a lot of wild seeds mixed in.

[Sheather]

He'll be beautiful, but you possibly shouldn't talk about keeping him online as it is a felony I believe, as a native migratory bird.

[isobea]

BigBear0007 - Two of my friends in Germany have them and they are fantastic singers (beautiful, too!). My friends also feed a good siskin mix but stated that these birds need a lot of direct sunlight and room to fly (which yours will have a hard time with) to achieve this brilliant yellow/black contrast.
Every now and then they show up at my niger (thistle) sock, but mostly we get the Lesser goldfinches around here. Good luck with him. He is very lucky to have found a permanent home with you.
Iso

[lovezebs]

BigBear0007

Watch out Jerry, the Bird Police is going to catch you!

What happened to only '6' birds, lol ?

~Elana~

[BigBear0007]

I'm not worried about the bird police!
If they want to arrest me for keeping a bird that can't survive in the wild ? Then they must have cleaned up the crime in our city?


Jerry

[BigBear0007]

My American Goldfinch is starting to colour up nicely!
In another month he we will be all yellow!

Jerry

[jonvill]

I believe it's the health of the bird and the amount of leutin and zeaxanthan in their diets that makes the brightly colored plumage.
Are you feeding kale, carrots and other dark greens?

[saeed.gallehdari]

BigBear0007 you'r doing well and it's your kindness keeping it not to die...
because this bird is almost omitted from the nature.

do not forget a good variety of seeds and a little sun light for it...

[BigBear0007]

I give him a wild Siskin mix that I get from Mooore's seeds in Ontario.
I cought him yesterday to trim his nails, and I felt his breast and he is doing well, nice and plump and healthy. I have tried different greens but he won't eat them. I gave him a little bit of spoke this morning, I will see if he ate it.

Jerry

[isobea]

BigBear0007 - he should eat dandelion seeds, sow thistle (actually any kind of thistle seeds) and chickweed. Also try different half-ripe grasses as they start maturing in your area.
Good luck, he's beautiful,
Iso

[608duj]

The Bird Police's job is to investigate illegally kept wild birds, they aren't busy with "real crime". As someone familiar with the USDA permits required to keep migratory wild birds, I know all it takes is one person reading your post online making a phone call that would set off an investigation by the Feds. Birds are confiscated and fines are stiff.

I do not know what the situation is in Canada. You might want to check
before there is a knock on your door.

[lnlovesorange]

BigBear0007 Yeah, my wild goldfinches LOVE thistle, they demolish the entire sock full!!! I am so jealous, they are beautiful!! I love the lookof them in the winter, before they're yellow (the way yours looks now, that kind of Greenish look) but when they are yellow they are astonishing. I really am jealous, and very happy that you saved this bird. I am lucky, as I get to see them out in my yard all year long. They do have a very pretty song also. Take care of him (i know you will) but deffinately thistle, they LOVE it!!!

[BigBear0007]

He gets plenty of thistle from the mix I give him.
The mix is a Siskin mix that I use for mule ( European goldfinch x canary )
He also goes through a lot of sunflower seeds and the mix has black and white perilla and other wild seeds that he company keeps secret. I pretty sure their is dandelion in there too.

If the Alberta wildlife service comes to my door? I can show them that the bird cannot fly more than four feet and he would not last a day out in the wild.
The first neighbourhood cat would get him.

I'll take my chances thank you!
It's not like I'm trapping them by the hundreds and shipping them to Europe, like they do in Mexico.

In London England a pair of these birds go for £600

Jerry

[608duj]

And they will tell you that you are in violation. You are not in London or Mexico.

[BigBear0007]

608duj and I'm not in the United States either so I'll take my chances!
What's better to release it and let it get killed or keep it inside and let have a good life with my canaries? Never mind it's a rhetoricle question. I know what you will say, that I am in violation. If I lived in the states, you would probably inform the authorities on me?

Let's just agree to disagree? Eh?

Jerry