American Gold

Our goldfinches are starting to molt into alternate, or breeding, plumage. As we move into spring, the males forsake their drab olive-gray coloring for the bright yellow, black, and white feathers of their breeding plumage. Their bills lose the dull gray-blackness of winter for the bright orange of the mating season. Goldfinches molt into their basic (non-breeding) plumage in the fall. The birds molt all of their feathers at this time, wings, tail (flight feathers), and body (contour) feathers. ThisRead more