Goldfinch Growing Up

Goldfinch Growing Up

The male American Goldfinch is a brilliant bird. His bright yellow feathers attract the attention not only of the female goldfinch but of anyone nearby. It’s hard to ignore, or take for granted, the almost neon quality of him on the feeder. He is regal.

He doesn’t start out that way, though. The baby bird is scrawny and demanding. As he grows, the young bird starts to fill out his feathers but they are splotchy and not very attractive, yellow mixed with gray in an exuberant disarray. There is nothing graceful about him, which is endearing in its own way.

It reminds me of a boy’s growing years. He starts out as a cute but demanding baby and slowly grows into his teen years when his voice breaks in mid-word, his face starts to get stubble, and he outgrows the sleeves of his shirt and the legs of his pants almost on a daily basis. Eventually, the boy finds his balance and the awkwardness slips away. He, like the goldfinch, shines in his youthful maturity.

It seems that nature mirrors itself, whatever the species. Regardless of the outside, the inside of us all develops in our own particular ways and that gets reflected externally. I find the young goldfinch on my feeder exciting, knowing that it will soon become something stunning – even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Click on photo for a larger view.

 

So much to know about American Goldfinches:

 http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/lifehistory