American goldfinch chicks varies from the usual insect-rich diet of other hosts. Feeding The American goldfinch is a diurnal feeder. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the species is one of the strictest vegetarians in the bird world. It is mainly granivorous, but will occasionally eat insects, which are also fed to its young to provide protein. Its diet consists of the seeds from a wide variety of plants, often those of weeds, grasses, and trees, such as thistle, teasel, dandelion, ragweed, mullein, cosmos, goatsbeard, sunflower, and alder. However, it also consumes tree buds, maple sap, and berries. It will eat at bird feeders provided by humans, particularly in the winter months, preferring Niger seed (commonly and erroneously called thistle seed). Unlike some finch species, the American goldfinch uses its feet extensively in feeding. It frequently hangs from seedheads while feeding to reach the seeds more easily. In the spring, the American goldfinch feeds on the catkins hanging from birches and alders by pulling one up with its beak and using its toes to hold the catkin still against the branch. This dexterity enables it to take advantage of food sources relatively inaccessible to potential competitors, increasing its chances of survival. Status The American goldfinch has a large range, with an estimated global extent of about and an increasing population. The species is evaluated as least concern on the 2016 IUCN Red List. Relationship with humans The American goldfinch is found in residential areas throughout its range. Backyard birders attract it using feeders containing niger seed, or by planting grasses and perennial plants, such as zinnias, cosmos, bee balm, or globe thistle, which produce seedheads favored by finches. The American goldfinch is not threatened by human activity and is widespread throughout its range. The clearing of forests by humans, though harmful to many species, has benefited the American goldfinch. Clearing of woodlands causes declines in numbers of neotropical migrants, while favoring short-distance migrants and permanent residents. This benefits the American goldfinch both as a short-distance migrant, and because the created open areas are the preferred environment of the bird, where weeds thrive which produce the primary food source of the American goldfinch. State bird The American goldfinch is the state bird of Iowa and New Jersey, where it is called the eastern goldfinch, and Washington, where it is called the willow goldfinch. It was chosen by schoolchildren in Washington