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Step 1
Watch for a yellow flash in the summer. The male goldfinch is a brilliant yellow color over most of its body. The head has a black cap and the wings are mostly black with some white bars across them. The male goldfinch has a short black and white tail with white underneath. The female goldfinches are an olive color, much less vivid than the males.
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Step 2
Look for a less colorful goldfinch in the winter. The males molt after the summer and take on a look quite similar to the females, a less gaudy olive brown color. Then, when the spring breeding season comes along, they exchange those feathers for their more recognizable vibrant ones.
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Step 3
Fill a birdfeeder with thistle seeds and observe it. Goldfinches love thistle seeds and can be attracted to feeders full of them with no troubles. They can also be found in fields full of weeds, where they will eat seeds still attached to the plants as well. They will take the down from the thistle plants and use it to fortify their nests.
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Step 4
Look for goldfinches in numbers. The state bird of Iowa is rarely alone, instead opting to live in small groups in the summer months and larger ones when the weather gets colder.
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Step 5
Search for a small cup-shaped nest in trees or bushes. Since the goldfinch relies on a steady diet of seeds it mates later in the year than most species, when the food it eats is much more plentiful. The eggs of the goldfinch are white with a blue tinge and have red spots. American goldfinches usually only have the time to rear one set of young at a time because of their late start.
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Step 6
Check out how they fly. You will be able to tell a goldfinch apart from other birds due to the fact that as it flies it goes up and down in a curved path with each flap of the wings. They have a tendency to let out a note or two as they fly, alerting you to their presence.
