By Joseph E. Faggan On 20 February 1999, I observed a partially leucistic American Goldfinch (Cardeulis tristas) at a thistle-seed feeder at my home in Beverly Hills, Oakland Co. The feeder is located about 10 feet (3 m) outside the kitchen window. I watched from inside the house with 7 x 35 binoculars. The bird's tail was almost entirely white with a couple of good-sized black splotches. There was also a considerable amount of white in the wings; most strikingly the white edges of the primaries appeared two or three times wider than normal. All other parts appeared to be normally colored for the basic (winter) plumage. Oddly, the tail seemed markedly longer than normal for the species. Leucistic American Goldfinch Midland Co.; November 2003 The next day, presumably the same bird returned, along with another with a mostly white tail which was of normal length. On subsequent dates, one or two goldfinches with mostly white tails used the feeder, but I did not see the long-tailed individual again. I saw no evidence of any agnostic action by any of the other goldfinches using the feeder. Ross (1963) gives records of two pure white American Goldfinches, and one with white contour feathers. Gross (1965) lists 296 individuals of 42 species of Fringillidae (grosbeaks, finches, sparrows, and buntings) with some instance of albinism, but the American Goldfinch is not listed as a species having had more than 15 records. Leucistic American Goldfinch Midland Co.; November 2003 A birder in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co. had a leucistic American Goldfinch at his feeder in mid-April 1995 (M. Smith, pers. comm.). He described it as totally lacking black, in general appearance a yellowish bird with white wings. It also had an odd orangish cast to it, and the other goldfinches behaved aggressively towards it. Joseph E. Faggan 20232 Old Coach Rd. Beverly Hills, MI 48025 Literature Cited: Gross, A.D. 1965. Incidence of albinism in North American birds. Bird-banding 36:67-71. Ross, C.C. 1963. Albinism among North American birds. Cassinia 47:2-21. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sandy Hoover; Leucistic American Goldfinch, Midland Co, Larkin Twp; Late November 2003. This article appeared (without photos above) in Michigan Birds and Natural History, the state journal of record, and a publication of the Michigan Audubon Society; Volume 6 Number 3, September 1999, pages 155-156; and was reprinted with the permission of Mr. Joseph E. Faggan.