Montana Field Guide

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Montana Field Guides

Home - Other Field Guides
- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Vertebrates - Craniata
    - Class - Birds - Aves
      - Order - Songbirds - Passeriformes
        
        Family - Finches - Fringillidae
        
        Species - Lesser Goldfinch - Spinus psaltria

Lesser Goldfinch - Spinus psaltria

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
(see State Rank Reason below)

Agency Status
USFWS: MBTA
USFS:
BLM:
PIF:

External Links

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State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)

Species is uncommon but increasing in abundance in Montana. It faces no known threats.

Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) Conservation Status Summary
State Rank: S5
Review Date = 01/23/2025
See the complete Conservation Status Rank Report

How we calculate Conservation Status Ranks

General Description

The Lesser Goldfinch is a year-round resident from northern South America to the Southwestern United States and from the southern Gulf Coast of Texas to California and up the West Coast into Washington. The species also breeds in northern Texas, Utah, Colorado, and Northern Nevada. The Lesser Goldfinch is a rare summer breeder in southeastern Montana with five or fewer observation records typically reported per year (Watt et al. 2014, MTNHP 2019).

For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.

Species Range

Montana Range Range Descriptions

Year-round

Western Hemisphere Range

eBird Occurrence Map

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and

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 621

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)

Direct Evidence of Breeding

Indirect Evidence of Breeding

No Evidence of Breeding

WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)

Regularly Observed

Not Regularly Observed

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Habitat

National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species

Forest and Woodland

Deciduous Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Aspen Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Mesic Forest and Woodland

Shrubland

Foothills - Montane Shrubland

Mountain Mahogany Woodland and Shrubland

Sagebrush Shrubland

Basin and Wyoming Big (Threetip) Sagebrush Shrubland

Mountain Big Sagebrush Shrubland

Grassland

Lowland - Prairie Grassland

Great Plains Dry Mixedgrass Prairie

Great Plains Mesic Mixedgrass Prairie

Great Plains Sand Prairie

Great Plains Solonetzic Grassland

Rocky Mountain Low Elevation - Dry Grassland

Semi-Desert Grassland

Wetland and Riparian

Riparian and Wetland Forest

Great Plains Floodplain Forest

Riparian Shrubland

Great Plains Floodplain Shrubland and Herbland

Recently Disturbed or Modified

Recently Burned

Recently Burned Sagebrush

Recently Burned Shrubland

Human Land Use

Agriculture

Pasture/Hay, Dryland

Developed

Developed - Low and Medium Intensity

Developed - Vegetation

Stewardship Responsibility

References

Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- [MTNHP] Montana Natural Heritage Program. 2019. Point observation database. Helena, MT.
- Marks, J.S., P. Hendricks, and D. Casey. 2016. Birds of Montana. Arrington, VA. Buteo Books. 659 pages.
- Watt, D.J. and E.J. Willoughby. 2014. Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A.F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi-org.weblib.lib.umt.edu:2443/10.2173/bna.392
Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
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- American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North American birds, 7th edition. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 829 p.
- Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
- Hays, R., R.L. Eng, and C.V. Davis (preparers). 1984. A list of Montana birds. Helena, MT: MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
- Hejl, S.J., R.L. Hutto, C.R. Preston, and D.M. Finch. 1995. The effects of silvicultural treatments on forest birds in the Rocky Mountains. pp. 220-244 In: T.E. Martin and D.M. Finch (eds). Ecology and Management of Neotropical Migratory Birds. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press. 489 p.
- Johnsgard, P.A. 1992. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. xi + 504 pp.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution, 6th edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, MT. 144 pp.
- Montana Bird Distribution Committee. 2012. P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution. 7th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. 208 pp. + foldout map.
- Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 598 pp.
- Skaar, P.D. 1969. Birds of the Bozeman latilong: a compilation of data concerning the birds which occur between 45 and 46 N. latitude and 111 and 112 W. longitude, with current lists for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, impinging Montana counties and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman, MT. 132 p.
- U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
- Verner, J., and L.V. Ritter. 1985. A comparison of transects and point counts in oak-pine woodlands of California. The Condor 87:47-68.
- Watt, D. J., and E. J. Willoughby. 1999. Lesser Goldfinch (Carduelis psaltria). In The birds of North America, No. 392 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia and American Ornithologists’ Union. [Revised online 7 February 2014]
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Citation for data on this website:
Lesser Goldfinch — Spinus psaltria. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on January 1, 2026, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABPBY06090