The wings are blackish with white wing patches.
Females are duller, lacking the black markings.
Males from Colorado into Mexico have entirely black backs. Lesser Goldfinches prefer drier habitats than American Goldfinches. Often, the preferred habitats include brushy ravines, live-oak or juniper woodlands, and shrublands. This is the most common goldfinch throughout much of northern California's interior and Great Basin areas. It is common in southern Oregon in the Klamath Basin, Rogue, Umpqua, and southern Willamette Valleys.