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Bird

American Goldfinch

Carduelis tristis

Lives in Mississippi all year and nests here. Found in all 82 counties, across 19 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 82 counties
Habitats
19

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 82 counties
Habitats
19
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Mississippi 19

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 19

Swamps

The Land of Evangeline
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Mississippi River Bottomland DepressionJoseph Rusling Meeker, The Land of Evangeline (1874): moss-hung trees over a still bayou in Louisiana swamp forest. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Louisiana bayou country (Meeker, The Land of Evangeline, 1874), a neighboring state.The Land of Evangeline, Joseph Rusling Meeker, 1874. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

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.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

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.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Mississippi River Riparian Forest; Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

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.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

SummerWinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterCultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall

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.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (185)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Mississippi. Those recorded in Mississippi first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (95)
  • Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine 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.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Northeast (11)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Midwest (10)
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (69)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood Summer and winter.
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore 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 - Offsite Hardwood 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.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed 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 - Offsite Hardwood 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.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry 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.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration 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.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Winter.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine 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.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Mississippi

  • Year-round: nests here, in 34 of 82 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 62 of 82 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 21

Plant genera in its diet records (8)
  • Avena Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Mississippi
  • Centaurea Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Mississippi
  • Erodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Mississippi
  • Helianthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 18 native plants in Mississippi
  • Madia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Mississippi
  • Polypremum Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Mississippi
  • Senecio Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Mississippi
  • Stachys Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Mississippi

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Mississippi, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

American Goldfinch uses many habitats in Mississippi; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Swamps

Birds 100

Plants 291

All of swamps in Mississippi

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 88

Plants 346

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Mississippi

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 120

Plants 1094

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Mississippi

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources