This is Birdnode.

American gold finches are one of our most familiar birds, a sunshine sparkle of yellow at the seed feeder.

But these little beauties lead lives that are anything but ordinary.

Unlike birds that nest in spring, American gold finches delay breeding until the summer,

leaving many pairs with just enough time to raise a single brood.

But some gold finches manage to pull off a second nesting.

The female leaves her first set of chicks in the care of her mate, then quickly mates with another male,

to raise a second brood in a new nest.

Gold finches also have a secret weapon against cowbirds, which lay their eggs and other birds nests.

Gold finches feed their young almost 100% vegetable matter.

That doesn't supply the proteins that the more omnivorous cowbirds need to thrive,

so the parasitic nestlings don't survive.

Even the vocal abilities of gold finches are something special.

They appear to recognize the flight calls of different individual gold finches,

which do our ears sound the same.

And when a female and male pair up, they learn to make identical flight calls,

cementing their identity as a mated pair.

Backyard birds they may be, but American gold finches never cease to amaze.

For Bird Note, I'm Mary McCann.

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