The Goldfinch is a small passerine, smaller than a sparrow and easy to recognize. Indeed, the adult has a blood-red face and a large yellow-lemon area on the wing.

The male has the red of the face that overflows the eye to the back while in the female, the red stops at eye level. The rest of the head is black and white. The dark eye is included in a black loral area. The beak, regularly conical, is pale pink. The upper body (mantle, back and scapulars) is brown-buff, with the exception of the rump and the uppertail, which are white, which is evident in flying birds. The brown above reaches the sides of the chest where it forms two conspicuous pectoral spots, and the flanks, while the rest of the underside is white. Wings and tails are black with white spots on feathers and feathers. The broad yellow band that cuts the wing in half lengthwise is very visible on the bird in flight. The legs are pink or pinkish depending on the season.