Bird Guide

Hooded Siskin vs Pine Siskin

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
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)

Pine Siskin

Spinus pinus

Tiny13 gForest

These birds are fairly small, being around the same size as the widespread American goldfinch. In both sexes, total length can range from 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 in), with a wingspan of 18–22 cm (7.1–8.7 in) and a weight of 12–18 g (0.42–0.63 oz). Adults are brown on the upperparts and pale on the underparts, with heavy streaking throughout. They have short, forked tails. Their bills are conical like most finches but are more elongated and slender than those of other co-occurring finches.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Doug Hynes · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Sam Kieschnick · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Hooded Siskin and Pine Siskin.