An unexpected visitor landed on the Allamanda yesterday while I was waiting for a hummingbird to appear. I am not sure what attracted him (it is a male), perhaps the color of the blooms which pretty closely matches his color. The American Goldfinch is the only finch to go through an additional molt in spring into brighter yellow breeding colors. His late Fall molt is much more drab.
Goldfinches do not eat nectar, but he did stay longer than I thought he would. He was on the plant for close to a minute, so I was able to get a number of pictures. They are vegetarian and do not eat insects — at least not intentionally.
Since they are vegetarian, Cow Bird chicks that get snuck into their nests can't survive on an all-seed diet. We have a pair of Goldfinches that visit our feeder routinely which is a little surprising since their preferred habitat is fields, not woods. Now, if I could just entice a hummingbird to check out the blossoms...
Oh, my goodness! He's absolutely posing for you!! These are beautiful...
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