Lesser Goldfinch

How to find it

Aim for open highland country rather than closed forest: weedy pastures, crops, brushy clearings and shrubby secondary growth with scattered trees. The slopes of Irazú and Turrialba volcanoes are regular places for it, as are various sites in southern Costa Rica. Scan the treetops for a small flock, where several males may be singing together. Listen for the chig-chig-chig call as birds pass overhead in their undulating flight. Because the birds are nomadic and their Costa Rican range is patchy, they may be present one day and gone the next, so patience helps.

How to recognise it

This is a tiny finch, about 10 cm long, with a thick, pointed, cone-shaped bill.

Adult males are glossy blue-black above and bright yellow below, with white patches in the wings and tail. In Costa Rica the back is black, and the wing patch is white, not yellow. The white sits at the base of the primaries, a useful detail when a bird flashes past.

Females are dull olive-green above and bright yellow below. Their white wing and tail patches are smaller than the male's.

What it sounds like

Recording: truthseqr, CC0 1.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Lesser Goldfinches usually move in small flocks of ten or fewer. They fly in an undulating pattern, high above the ground, and land in treetops where several males often sing together.

In Costa Rica they are shy and wary, which is worth knowing before you try to get close.

The nest sits in a tree or shrub, often beside a road or in a brushy field.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica the species is usually found between 850 and 2150 m, and sometimes as high as 2750 m. It prefers open mountain country: shrubby secondary growth, weedy pastures, crops and clearings with scattered trees.

Its range takes in the high Central Valley and the Reventazón basin, mostly on the slopes of Irazú and Turrialba Volcano National Parks. It also lives on the Pacific side of the Talamanca range, including the General Valley and San Vito.

Similar birds

The Yellow-bellied Siskin is a similar bird in Costa Rica. It is darker and has a finer bill than the Lesser Goldfinch, and large yellow wing patches show clearly when it flies. Adult male siskins have a glossy black head, throat and chest. The Lesser Goldfinch shows white in the wings, and the male has a black back above its yellow underside.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican Spanish uses Jilguero Menor and Mozotillo de Charral, and the second is the older local name.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists the Lesser Goldfinch as a resident (R), uncommon and nomadic in Costa Rica, though globally it is Least Concern.

Photography tips

Because these goldfinches are shy and wary, keep your distance and let them settle. Treetops where a flock has landed are the best place to look for singing males.