Distribution

Figure 1. Distribution of the American Goldfinch.

Figure 2. Summer distribution of the American Goldfinch; data from the Breeding Bird Survey, 1994-2003

Figure 3. Early winter distribution of the American Goldfinch; data from the Christmas Bird Count, 1966-2003.

The Americas

Breeding Range

Breeds in appropriate habitats from sw. Newfoundland west through s. Manitoba, north into central Saskatchewan and Alberta and abruptly south along the Rocky Mountains then west through s. British Columbia to the coast, including Vancouver I. Southern limit runs from coast of N. Carolina southwest through central Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, extreme n. Texas to central Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and into n. California (Figs. 1 & 2). Details from selected regions:

Quebec (Lepage and Limoges 1996): north to about 49°N, 52°N along upper (eastern) St. Lawrence valley. Highest densities in central St. Lawrence lowland, Ottawa Valley, and Saguenay-Lac-St. Jean region, as well as the lower Laurentians, the Chaudiere-Appalaches region, and the Eastern Townships. Also found on Antocosti Island and the Magdalen Islands.

Ontario: http://www.birdsontario.org/atlas/maps.jsp?lang=en. Primarily Great Lakes plain, north to Georgian Bay and west to Sault Ste. Marie.

Alberta (Fed. Alberta Naturalists 2007): southern half of province, primarily central and eastern; most abundant in parkland, grassland, and foothills of Rockies.

British Columbia: http://www.birdatlas.bc.ca/bcdata/maps.jsp. Extreme southern portions of province, including s. Vancouver I.

Colorado (Andrews and Righter 1992): uncommon resident at low elevations in western valleys and eastern plains.

Texas: http://txtbba.tamu.edu/maps/AMGO.HTM. Few records, primarily panhandle and northeastern-most portions of state.

Winter Range

Figures 1 & 3. Winter and breeding ranges overlap, with populations generally shifting southward in winter. Northern limit extends from s. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick across e. Canada and the n. U.S., including Michigan and Wisconsin, southwest through Minnesota to n. Colorado, then north through Wyoming and Montana and into s. British Columbia. Southern extremity from Florida west along the Gulf Coast to Mexico (from Coahuila and Tamaulipas south to Veracruz on the Caribbean slope), and in n. Sonora and n. Baja California on the Pacific slope (Howell and Webb 1995), northwest across Mexico to n. Baja California. Early winter distribution apparently correlated with temperature (Root 1988).

Casual records exist from n. Ontario, n. Quebec and s. Labrador, Bermuda, the n. Bahama Islands, and Cuba (Am. Ornithol. Union 1976).

Range Outside The Americas

No records known.

Historical Changes In Distribution

No major changes. With recent increase in number of winter bird feeders, more goldfinches are overwintering in northern parts of range (Middleton 1977a ). Breeding Bird Surveys suggest populations decreasing in several parts of range (see Demography and Populations: status), though oak savanna restoration efforts over the past 30 years have increased their abundance in the midwestern USA (Davis et al. 2000).

Fossil And Phylogenetic History

Fossil record from the late Pleistocene in California (Sibley 1939: 127). Mitochondrial cytochrome B sequencing suggests that members of Carduelis speciated earlier, however, during the Miocene and Pliocene Epochs (2-9 million years ago) (Arnaiz-Villena et al. 1998).