What Does The Goldfinch Eat?

Grains are the primary food for goldfinch , in addition to some types of herbs, seeds, and tree buds, and some types of them eat insects.

List of the best foods for goldfinches

Although seeds constitute the largest proportion of the goldfinch’s diet in the wild, and a mixture of them can be purchased in the store or made at home, adding other foods, including fruits and vegetables, to 20-25% of their diet, will give them balance and variety, . Below is a list of the most prominent food options for goldfinch:

Hulled sunflower seeds, thistle seeds, and flax seeds.
Canary seeds.
Millet seeds.
Oat seeds.
Vetiver seeds.
Sesame.
Black rape seeds.
Chia seeds.
Seeds of elm trees, ash trees, and rods.
Splinter plant.
Some types of herbs, such as; Dandelion, cosmos, meadowsweet, lavender.
Worms, such as; Millworm and spruce budworm.
The White Termite.
Larvae.
Tree buds.
Star plant seeds.
Tree sap, such as; Maple, beech and rails.
Vegetables, such as; Broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, corn, and peas.
Fruits, such as; Grapes, berries, apples, pears, peaches, and strawberries.
Insects, especially in spring and summer, such as; Flies, grasshoppers, and beetles, as well as aphids, cockroaches, and moths.
Boiled eggs. Some species of goldfinch may need eggs to provide them with protein and calcium, such as the European goldfinch.

Make sure to wash vegetables and fruits and cut them into small pieces before serving them to the goldfinch, and avoid serving spoiled ones.

Goldfinch diet chart

Goldfinches are active birds during the day, so they need food to maintain their energy level. The amount of food needed for them is estimated to be equivalent to a quarter to half of the goldfinch’s weight per day, that is, approximately 5 to 10 grams per day as a maximum for an adult bird that weighs 14 years. -19 g. They must also be provided with clean drinking water throughout the day.

Food for goldfinch chicks

The food of goldfinch chicks differs from that of adult birds. At the beginning of their lives, they are unable to eat and digest grains, so they eat insects rich in protein to support their growth. They also depend heavily on their parents to obtain their food in the wild.

Raising goldfinch chicks is very delicate, as it requires a precise diet rich in various foods, such as; Boiled eggs, dried insects (from bird stores), cuttlefish bones, olive oil, as well as some types of fruits; Such as apples and pears. It is worth noting the necessity of mashing the ingredients together until they have a soft consistency, then feeding them to the goldfinch’s nest using a syringe.

Goldfinch nutritional supplements

Goldfinches are characterized by intelligence, so you may sometimes find them, like humans, choosing specific types of food, and leaving out some of the foods that are given to them, which requires providing them with bird-specific protein supplements, which can be purchased from bird care stores.