Say it isn’t so. Does summer really have to go?
Our brightly colored goldfinches are gone for the year. No more Pennsylvania distelfinks glowing like bright-yellow Easter peeps on our feeders. Oh, the birds are still here mind you, but their sunshine-gold feathers are falling away. Because winter time is no time to show off. One must blend in and maintain a low profile to conserve energy and avoid trouble as rough weather arrives. So our American Goldfinches have commenced to molting—shedding their breeding plumes and replacing them with drab earth-tone shades for winter.
![Molting American Goldfinch](https://www.susquehannawildlife.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/American-Goldfich-adult-IMG_4483-Copy.jpg)
![American Goldfinch in Molt American Goldfinch in molt.](https://www.susquehannawildlife.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/America-Goldfinch-adult-male-IMG_4490-Copy.jpg)
![Juvenile American Goldfinch Juvenile American Goldfinch](https://www.susquehannawildlife.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/American-Goldfinch-juvenile-IMG_4499-Copy.jpg)