The American Goldfinch is a North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from southern Canada to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canadian border to Mexico during the winter. The only finch in its subfamily which undergoes a complete molt, the American Goldfinch displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is a vibrant yellow in the summer and an olive color during the winter months, while the female is a dull yellow-brown shade which brightens only slightly during the summer. The male displays brightly colored plumage during the breeding season to attract a mate. The American Goldfinch is a granivore and adapted for the consumption of seedheads, with a conical beak to remove the seeds and agile feet to grip the stems of seedheads while feeding. It is a social bird, and will gather in large flocks while feeding and migrating. The breeding season is tied to the peak of food supply, beginning in late July, which is relatively late in the year for a finch. Human activity has generally benefited the American Goldfinch. It is often found in residential areas, attracted to bird feeders installed by humans, which increase its survival rate in these areas. Deforestation also creates open meadow areas which are the preferred habitat of the American Goldfinch.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Goldfinch

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1869:

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, breaking away from the American Equal Rights Association which they had also previously founded. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Woman_Suffrage_Association

1966:

Disapproving of his handling of the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ ordered an attack on the forces of General Tôn Thất Đính and ousted him from the position. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%B4n_Th%E1%BA%A5t_%C4%90%C3%ADnh

1974:

A unit of the Golani Brigade assaulted an elementary school in Ma'alot, Israel, where three armed members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine had taken 115 people hostage, resulting in 28 deaths. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%27alot_massacre

1990:

Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet was sold at auction in Christie's New York office for a total of US$82.5 million, at the time the world's most expensive painting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Dr._Gachet

1997:

The United States publicly acknowledged its role in the Laotian Civil War twenty-two years after the war's end during a ceremony dedicating the Laos Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laotian_Civil_War

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

trompe-l'oeil (n): (art) A painting designed to look very realistic, such that it acts as an optical illusion http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trompe-l%27oeil

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I have learned to regard fame as a will-o-the-wisp which, when caught, is not worth the possession; but to please a child is a sweet and lovely thing that warms one's heart and brings its own reward. --L. Frank Baum http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum