Finches

European Goldfinch

Stieglitz

Carduelis carduelis

Finches2 photosFirst seen: 29 August 2026

The European Goldfinch is a colourful finch of open, lightly wooded landscapes across Europe and western Asia. It often feeds acrobatically on thistles and other seed heads, and outside the breeding season forms mobile flocks.

ID tip: The red face, black-and-white head and broad yellow wing bar are distinctive. Young birds lack the red face but retain the bold black-and-yellow wing pattern.

First seen: 29 August 2026 · Nordende des Zürichsees · 2 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

Nordende des Zürichsees29 August 2026

Family: Finches (Fringillidae)
Length: 12–13 cm
Wingspan: 21–25 cm
Regional status: Year-round resident (Switzerland)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 30 August 2026
Habitat: Open woodland, farmland, gardens and parks with seed-bearing plants
Diet: Small seeds, especially thistles and teasels; some insects

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

European Goldfinch

Places in my records

Selected photographs