| Spinus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| American goldfinch (Spinus tristis) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Fringillidae |
| Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
| Genus: | Spinus Koch, 1816 |
| Type species | |
| Fringilla spinus Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Spinus is a genus of passerine birds in the finch family. It contains the North and South American siskins and goldfinches, as well as two Old World species.
The genus Spinus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch with the type species by tautonomy as Fringilla spinus Linnaeus, 1758, the Eurasian siskin. [1] [2] The genus name is from the Ancient Greek σπίνος spínos, a name for a now-unidentifiable bird. [3]
All of the species in the genus, except for the Tibetan serin, were formerly included in the genus Carduelis . They were moved to the resurrected genus Spinus based on phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. [4] [5] [6] The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus Serinus . The Eurasian siskin and the Tibetan serin are the only species from the Old World included in the group. [4]
The Tibetan serin is an outgroup within Spinus, having been the first to diverge. [5] The remainder of the genus can be divided into three monophyletic clades: the North American goldfinches (Lawrence's, lesser, and American); the so-called North American siskins (Eurasian, pine, Antillean, and black-capped); and the South American siskins (the remaining 12 species). [7]
The radiation of South American siskins was rapid, and was originally thought to have occurred around 3.5 million years ago due to a range expansion associated with the Great American Interchange and contingent upon the spread of mesothermal plants from the Rocky Mountains to the Andes. [7] More recent work suggests the radiation occurred much later, within the last 1 million years, and speciation events may have been initiated by the climactic variations of the late Pleistocene. [8]
The hooded siskin may be paraphyletic. [8]
Spinus finches are gregarious and may breed and forage in small groups. [9] In the non-breeding season, these species generally disperse away from the breeding grounds and small flocks roam nomadically in search of food; these flocks may be of one species or mixed with other species in the genus. Some species, such as the pine siskin and thick-billed siskin, are considered irruptive. [9] [10]
Like most other members of Carduelinae, but unusually amongst songbirds, members of Spinus are primarily granivorous, but may occasionally supplement their diet with insects or fruit. Most species eat a variety of small seeds, especially from asters, grasses, alders, and birches. [9]
The IUCN lists 17 species as least concern, two as vulnerable (saffron siskin and yellow-faced siskin), and one, the red siskin, as endangered. Species in this clade are threatened by habitat loss and capture for the cage-bird trade. [11]
The genus contains 20 species: [4]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Tibetan serin | Spinus thibetanus | Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal |
 | American goldfinch | Spinus tristis | mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter |
 | Lawrence's goldfinch | Spinus lawrencei | California and Baja California, winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico |
 | Lesser goldfinch | Spinus psaltria | the southwestern United States (near the coast, as far north as extreme southwestern Washington) to Venezuela and Peru |
 | Eurasian siskin | Spinus spinus | Eurasia and North Africa |
 | Antillean siskin | Spinus dominicensis | Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) |
 | Pine siskin | Spinus pinus | Canada, Alaska and, to a more variable degree, across the western mountains and northeastern parts of the United States |
 | Black-capped siskin | Spinus atriceps | Mexico and Guatemala |
 | Black-headed siskin | Spinus notatus | Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua |
 | Black-chinned siskin | Spinus barbatus | Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands |
 | Yellow-bellied siskin | Spinus xanthogastrus | Costa Rica south to southern Ecuador, central Bolivia and the highlands of northwestern Venezuela |
 | Olivaceous siskin | Spinus olivaceus | northern Peru to La Paz and Cochabamba in Bolivia and to southeastern Ecuador; has also been observed east of the Andes near Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia |
 | Hooded siskin | Spinus magellanicus | central Argentina north to central Brazil |
 | Saffron siskin | Spinus siemiradzkii | Ecuador and Peru |
 | Yellow-faced siskin | Spinus yarrellii | Brazil and Venezuela |
 | Red siskin | Spinus cucullatus | northern Colombia and northern Venezuela |
 | Black siskin | Spinus atratus | Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru |
 | Yellow-rumped siskin | Spinus uropygialis | Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru |
| Thick-billed siskin | Spinus crassirostris | Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru | |
 | Andean siskin | Spinus spinescens | Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela |
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usually resident and do not migrate. They have a worldwide native distribution except for Australia and the polar regions. The family Fringillidae contains more than two hundred species divided into fifty genera. It includes the canaries, siskins, redpolls, serins, grosbeaks and euphonias, as well as the morphologically divergent Hawaiian honeycreepers.
Serinus is a genus of small birds in the finch family Fringillidae found in West Asia, Europe and Africa. The birds usually have some yellow in their plumage. The genus was introduced in 1816 by the German naturalist Carl Ludwig Koch. Its name is Neo-Latin for "canary-yellow".
The genus Carduelis is a group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae.
The Eurasian siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is also called the European siskin, common siskin or just siskin. Other (archaic) names include black-headed goldfinch, barley bird and aberdevine. It is very common throughout Europe and Eurosiberia. It is found in forested areas, both coniferous and mixed woodland where it feeds on seeds of all kinds, especially of alder and conifers.
The citril finch, also known as the Alpine citril finch, is a small songbird, a member of the true finch family, Fringillidae.
The lesser goldfinch is a small finch in the genus Spinus native to the Americas.
The yellow-bellied siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It breeds from Costa Rica south to southern Ecuador, central Bolivia and the highlands of northwestern Venezuela. According to phylogenetic studies Spinus notatus is its parental ancestor.
The oriole finch is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is found in Africa and is native to Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It lives in subtropical or tropical moist evergreen montane forests.
The cardueline finches are a subfamily, Carduelinae, one of three subfamilies of the finch family Fringillidae, the others being the Fringillinae and the Euphoniinae. The Hawaiian honeycreepers are now included in this subfamily. Except for the Hawaiian honeycreepers which underwent adaptive radiation in Hawaii and have evolved a broad range of diets, cardueline finches are specialised seed eaters, and unlike most passerine birds, they feed their young mostly on seeds, which are regurgitated. Besides this, they differ from the other finches in some minor details of their skull. They are adept at opening seeds and clinging to stems, unlike other granivorous birds, such as sparrows and buntings, which feed mostly on fallen seeds. Some members of this subfamily are further specialised to feed on a particular type of seed, such as cones in the case of crossbills. Carduelines forage in flocks throughout the year, rather than keeping territories, and males defend their females rather than a territory or nest.
The hooded siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family (Fringillidae), native to South America. It belongs to the putative clade of neotropical siskins in the genus Spinus sensu lato.
The genus Rhynchostruthus is a small group of finches in the family Fringillinae. Commonly known as golden-winged grosbeaks, they are attractive, chunky, medium-sized, robust-billed songbirds restricted to the southern Arabian and northern Somalian regions.
The black siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland. According to some phylogenetic studies, Spinus notata is its parental ancestor.
The black-headed siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and heavily degraded former forest.
The yellow-breasted greenfinch is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae that is native to the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent.
The yellow-faced siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Brazil and Venezuela.
The Indonesian serin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae.
The Yemen serin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.
The Tibetan serin or Tibetan siskin is a true finch species.
The greenfinches are small passerine birds in the genus Chloris in the subfamily Carduelinae within the Fringillidae. The species have a Eurasian distribution except for the European greenfinch, which also occurs in North Africa.
Crithagra is a genus of small passerine birds in the finch family (Fringillidae). They live in Africa and Arabia.
