Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

North American birders refer to this species as the European goldfinch, but if you encounter English-speaking, bird-knowledgable folks throughout most of the species’ native range – Europe, North Africa, and western/central Asia – you’re more likely to hear it called simply “goldfinch.” It belongs to the same subfamily, Carduelinae, as North American goldfinches, and all of the subfamily species display similar behaviors. When foraging, they’re known for landing directly on a plant’s flower or seed head and hanging upside down so that they can more effectively pluck out the tasty seeds – sunflowers and thistles are particular favorites of these birds. While they usually remove seeds directly from the plant, they will sometimes glean seeds dropped on the ground, and they supplement their seed-heavy diet with occasional flowers (buds/petals), small fruits, and invertebrates.

In Christian artworks, the European goldfinch often appears in depictions of the Madonna and Child. There are various explanations for this association. My favorite is a Just So Stories-like Christian legend that describes a goldfinch landing on Jesus as the doomed man carried the cross on which he would be crucified to Calvary. The bird plucked one of the thorns from the crown Jesus wore and, when it did so, a rush of Jesus’ blood bespattered the goldfinch’s face, permanently coloring the species. Therefore, the goldfinches that appear with “baby Jesus” in Madonna and Child paintings are prefiguring his violent death. There is a more mundane explanation, however; goldfinches were popular children’s pets in Europe, and after a few artists depicted the infant Jesus with a goldfinch, other artists followed suit, and the allegorical meaning was attached later. Whatever the case, the strikingly-marked goldfinch is considered an emblem of virtue, endurance, and fecundity.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.