About the Hooded Siskin
The hooded siskin is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches and euphonias. It is found in every mainland South American country except French Guiana and Suriname.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
ID tip
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".
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the Hooded Siskin sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Réunion.
When to see it
Peak activity in October · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Black-chinned SiskinSpinus barbatusThe black-chinned siskin is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs about 13 to 20 g (0.46 to 0.71 oz).
Lawrence's GoldfinchSpinus lawrenceiAt 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.
Yellow-bellied SiskinSpinus xanthogastrusThe yellow-bellied siskin is 10 to 11.5 cm (3.9 to 4.5 in) long and weighs about 11 to 14 g (0.39 to 0.49 oz).
Side by side: Hooded Siskin vs Lesser Goldfinch · Hooded Siskin vs Pine Siskin · Eurasian Siskin vs Hooded Siskin · Black-chinned Siskin vs Hooded Siskin · Hooded Siskin vs Lawrence's Goldfinch
Learn the Hooded Siskin for real
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