Bird
American Goldfinch
Carduelis tristis
Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 20 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 67 counties
- Habitats
- 20

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 67 counties
- Habitats
- 20
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Alabama 20
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.


Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops



Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.
Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Tree plantations and managed pine
Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.
Other habitats in its models (170)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama.
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
- Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
- Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
- Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
- Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
- Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer and winter.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer.
- Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
- North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
- Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
- Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
- Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer and winter.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
- Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Winter.
- Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
- Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
- Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
- Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
- South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
- South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
- Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Seasons in Alabama
- Year-round: nests here, in 59 of 67 counties.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 22 of 67 counties.
Also found in this habitat
Plants 1069
Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food.
- SassafrasSassafras albidum
- Yellow IndiangrassSorghastrum nutans
- Bald CypressTaxodium distichum
- Southern Nodding TrilliumTrillium rugelii
- DeerberryVaccinium stamineum
- Quillwort Yellow Eyed GrassXyris isoetifolia
- Hazel AlderAlnus serrulata
- Rattlesnake FernBotrypus virginianus
- Brickellia cordifoliaBrickellia cordifolia
- Eastern Woodland SedgeCarex blanda
- Southern Shagbark HickoryCarya carolinae-septentrionalis
- Atlantic White CedarChamaecyparis thyoides
- Slender SpikegrassChasmanthium laxum
- American Witch-hazelHamamelis virginiana
- Spotted JewelweedImpatiens capensis
- ButternutJuglans cinerea
- Black WalnutJuglans nigra
- Canada Wood-nettleLaportea canadensis
- White CutgrassLeersia virginica
- Panhandle LilyLilium iridollae
- False Solomon's-sealMaianthemum racemosum
- Matelea baldwynianaMatelea baldwyniana
- Cinnamon FernOsmundastrum cinnamomeum
- SwitchgrassPanicum virgatum
Wildlife 245
Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in Alabama. Not sighting records.
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for American Goldfinch Avoids forest interior
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)










































