Lesser goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

The Lesser goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) is a bird found in United States and Mexico. Open woods, gardens and scrub from the US to northern South America. It eats fruit, seeds and nuts and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Spinus psaltria
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Mexico

🏡 Where the Lesser goldfinch lives

Open woods, gardens and scrub from the US to northern South America.

🍽️ What it eats

🍎 Fruit30%
🌰 Seeds & nuts30%
🌿 Leaves & plants30%
🐛 Insects & bugs10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 It loves nibbling thistle and sunflower seeds.

Hear the Lesser goldfinch

Recorded by Manuel Grosselet (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1184605. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Lesser goldfinch

Where does the Lesser goldfinch live?

The Lesser goldfinch lives in United States and Mexico. Open woods, gardens and scrub from the US to northern South America.

What does the Lesser goldfinch eat?

fruit (about 30%), seeds and nuts (about 30%), leaves and other plant parts (about 30%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Lesser goldfinch endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.