Bird
American Goldfinch
Carduelis tristis
Lives in Arkansas all year and nests here. Found in all 75 counties, across 14 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 75 counties
- Habitats
- 14

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 75 counties
- Habitats
- 14
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Arkansas 14
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

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.
Granite and other acidic rock outcrops
Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.
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.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.
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.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
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 (185)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Arkansas.
- 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 Limestone 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.
- Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood 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.
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood 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.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood 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.
- 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.
- Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest 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 Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope 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.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) 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.
- Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest 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.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous 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.
- South-Central Interior Mesophytic 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.
- Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and 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.
- Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens 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.
- Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland 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 Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea 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.
- Southern 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.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog 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.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine 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.
- Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore 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 - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - 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.
- Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian 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.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory 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.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Seasons in Arkansas
- Year-round: nests here, in 30 of 75 counties.
- Winter: does not nest here, in 65 of 75 counties.
Also found in this habitat
Plants 897
Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food.
- White OakQuercus alba
- Post OakQuercus stellata
- Little BluestemSchizachyrium scoparium
- SweetgumLiquidambar styraciflua
- Poison-ivyToxicodendron radicans
- Southern Red OakQuercus falcata
- Black OakQuercus velutina
- American Hop-hornbeamOstrya virginiana
- Virginia CreeperParthenocissus quinquefolia
- Cherrybark OakQuercus pagoda
- American ElmUlmus americana
- American HornbeamCarpinus caroliniana
- Black HickoryCarya texana
- Loblolly PinePinus taeda
- False NettleBoehmeria cylindrica
- SugarberryCeltis laevigata
- White AshFraxinus americana
- Blackjack OakQuercus marilandica
- Water OakQuercus nigra
- Northern Red OakQuercus rubra
- SparkleberryVaccinium arboreum
- Red MapleAcer rubrum
- Eastern RedbudCercis canadensis
- Flowering DogwoodCornus florida
Wildlife 232
Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in Arkansas. Not sighting records.
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
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)
















































