Carduleis carduelis
Order Passeriformes
Family Fringillidae
Subfamily Carduelinae
Adult.— Region about the base of the bill bright red; top of the head and a stripe down the side of the neck black; sides of head white; back brown; rump white; wings and tail black, the former crossed by a broad band of bright yellow; under parts dull white, sides brown; bill reddish-white, tipped with black.
Nest, a neat cup, in bushes or small trees.
Eggs, bluish-white or greenish-white, marked with purplish around the larger end.
The European Goldfinch has been introduced in the neighborhood of New York city, and seems to have become permanently established in Central Park and other favorable places in the upper part of the city. It is resident throughout the year; in the neighborhood of Boston it occurs rarely. It is restless and active, flies like our Goldfinch in undulations, but is more at home in trees than on the ground.
A common note is like the syllables steeglit. It may easily be known by the broad band of yellow across the black wing. Its under parts are white, unstreaked, while the Pine Siskin, which has a smaller yellow bar across the wing, is everywhere streaked.
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)