Watercolor Birds #40: European Goldfinch

Here's another Old-World bird I miss, like #38, the bulbul. They used to be very common when I was growing up in Israel, but I haven't seen them in ages, even during my visits. According to the Hebrew Wikipedia, their populations went down due to hunting. They are hunted to serve as caged song birds and to hybridize with canaries to create a colorful singing bird. A horrible way to hunt them is to catch one, break off its wings or legs, and let its alarm calls bring more birds to the net. Poor things.