Anybody know the name of this bird? (Raleigh, Durham: vs., to eat)

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

He is a welcome guest in my garden, but I don't know my NC Birds very well. Anybody know its name? I loves eating the seeds from the sunflowers.

[danadana]

Thanks for sharing that pic NRG. I think it's an american goldfinch.

American Goldfinch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia What do you think?

[hula]

When the weather gets cold it loses it's beautiful color.....but it always comes back in warmer weather.

[rfb]

As others have said, it is a (male) Goldfinch. They are one of my favorite birds, due to the beautiful yellow/black color of the mature males. Its a good thing they look so nice - they are a messy bird, as they tend to drop a lot of the seed that they try to eat.

Goldfinches tend to "flock birds", in that where there is one, there are many. I had more than 60 in my back yard at one time last February - I thought it was a scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds". If you put up a thistle feeder or two, you will probably see a lot more. Not all will be as impressive as the males - the females and juveniles tend to have more of brown color vs. the nice gold/black color of the males.

[christinabean]

Ditto what everyone else said. It's a male goldfinch. They are lovely. I noticed the other day that one looked like he had Groucho Marks eyebrows. Sometimes in the evening about 10-15 or so will settle together on a mostly dead tree out from our deck, near the water. Thanks for the lovely pic

[Calvitts]

I became familiar with this bird when I first put out thistle feeders in my yard in Michigan. I was so delighted to see these beautiful birds visiting my thistle feeders in my yard in SW Durham.

NRG, if you have not put out some thistle yet, you should do so. I've never had more than a few males at a time; I would love to see more of them!

[Esperanza27713]

BTW, NRG, I like the sunflowers!

[Calvitts]

Originally Posted by Esperanza27713

BTW, NRG, I like the sunflowers!

Ditto!

And, as usual, you have to show off your photography and uploading skills yet again, to the benefit of all of us!

[underPSI]

Ditto! It's definitely an American Goldfinch!

haha. Just had to repeat it in case you didn't catch it previously.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

Thank you all for your helpful responses. It is nice to know the name of this beautiful bird. And thanks for the compliments on the sunflowers. I believe they are the "Red Sun" type. I find sunflowers of all types seems to do very well here in the Triangle.