Bird Guide

Hooded Siskin vs Lawrence's Goldfinch

Hooded Siskin (Spinus magellanicus)

Hooded Siskin

Spinus magellanicus

Tiny14 gShrubland

The hooded siskin is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long. and weighs about 11 g (0.39 oz). The species is sexually dimorphic. Adult males of the nominate subspecies S. m. magellanicus have an entirely black head, throat, and upper breast. They have a bright yellow collar on the nape and the sides of their neck. Their lower nape, back, and scapulars are olive green with faint dark streaks. Their rump is bright yellow and their uppertail coverts are olive green. Their tail is mostly black with wide deep yellow edges on all but the innermost pair of feathers. Their wings have a complicated pattern. Voice: The hooded siskin typically sings from an open perch and also in flight; it sings for long periods. Its song is "a varied series of rapid short twittering tseet-tseet, tseet-weet, or tseet-weet-a-weeta interspersed with repeated phrases; several males often sing in concert". Its calls include "a light or lilting djey, djey; tseeu; and a long trilling trrrrrr".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Hugo Hulsberg · CC0
Lawrence's Goldfinch (Spinus lawrencei)

Lawrence's Goldfinch

Spinus lawrencei

Tiny11 gForest

At about 4.75 in (12.1 cm) long and weighing about 0.4 oz (11 g), it is slightly bigger than the lesser goldfinch and slightly smaller than the American goldfinch, with less yellow in the plumage than either. Adults of both sexes are gray with pink to grayish flesh-color bills, stubbier than other goldfinches'. They have yellow rumps and paired yellowish wing-bars, as well as yellow edges on the flight feathers and yellow on the breast. The tail is black, crossed by a white band. Plumage is duller in winter, brightening after a spring molt.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Carduelis_lawrencei_1.jpg: Linda Tanner from Los Osos, California, U.S.A. derivative work: Berichard (talk) · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Hooded Siskin and Lawrence's Goldfinch.