The goldfinch has many characteristics that distinguish from other birds. The size of the bird for one thing is amazing along with its colors that change from illuminating to drab, with the seasons. The relationship of the bird to other species is also another describing factor, along with the area that the bird persists to. The Goldfinch has an appropriate name because of its bright summer colors, but in the winter the colors fade and are hidden by a drab winter coat. The summer colors of the goldfinch are obvious with their black caps, tail, and wings and their bright lemon-yellow bodies.
Females are less brilliant with their olive-yellow coloring and a lack of a black cap.
During the winter males loose their distinctive black cap, but still retain some yellow on their face and throat, but the rest of the body turns to a buffy brown. During the winter months the coloring of the tail and wings also change, the wings are mostly black except for the tips which turn to a black or white color and the tail also has almost the same coloring. The females have almost the same coloring during these months except they do not retain any yellow coloring. The coloring of the goldfinches plays an important roll in their mating and daily lives, the males are a brighter color were as the females are a much more drab coloring. This coloring difference allows the females a better chance for survival, so in turn the males are protecting the survival of the species by attracting more attention to their selves.