Eurasian Siskin vs Lesser Goldfinch

Eurasian Siskin

Spinus spinus

Tiny13 gForest

The siskin is a small, short-tailed bird, 11–12.5 centimetres (4.3–4.9 in) in length with a wingspan that ranges from 20 to 23 centimetres (7.9 to 9.1 in). It weighs between 12 and 18 grams (0.42 and 0.63 oz). The bird shows sexual dimorphism. The male has a greyish-green back, a yellow rump, yellow sides to the tail with a black tip, black wings with a distinctive yellow wing stripe, a yellowish breast that becomes whiter and striped towards the cloaca, a black bib (or chin patch) and two yellow auriculas and a black cap on its head. Voice: This bird has two calls, both powerful but conflicting, one is descending and the other is ascending, their onomatopoeic sounds can be represented as "tilu" and "tluih". On occasions they also issue a harsh rattling chirrup. Like other finches, the song is a smooth, rapid twitter and trill of long duration, occasionally interrupted by stronger or shorter syllables.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Carlo Fracasso · CC0

Photo: (c) caroline legg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Lesser Goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

Tiny9 gShrubland

This species is not only the smallest North American Spinus finch, it may be the smallest true finch in the world. Some sources list more subtropical Spinus species as slightly smaller on average, including the Andean siskin (Spinus spinescens). This species ranges from 9 to 12 cm (3.5 to 4.7 in) in length and can weigh from 8 to 11.5 g (0.28 to 0.41 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.5 to 7 cm (2.2 to 2.8 in), the tail is 3.9 to 4.7 cm (1.5 to 1.9 in), the bill is 0.9 to 1.1 cm (0.35 to 0.43 in) and the tarsus is 1.1 to 1.2 cm (0.43 to 0.47 in).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Rosa Elena Albornoz · CC0

Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Eurasian Siskin and Lesser Goldfinch.