Tibetan serin | |
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Female Tibetan serin from Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Sikkim, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Fringillidae |
Subfamily: | Carduelinae |
Genus: | Spinus |
Species: | S. thibetanus |
Binomial name | |
Spinus thibetanus (Hume, 1872) | |
The Tibetan serin (Spinus thibetanus) or Tibetan siskin is a true finch species (family Fringillidae).
The Tibetan serin was formerly placed in the genus Serinus but was assigned to the genus Spinus based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. [2] [3]
The first description of the species was by the British ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume in 1872 under the binomial name Chrysomitris thibetanus. [4] In the 19th century, it was also referred to as the Sikkim siskin. [5] At that time, the Lepcha of Sikkim referred to it as tŭk nyil nyón ('fierce wormwood'). [6]
Length (including the tail) of this species is around 12 cm (4.7 in). The Tibetan siskin lacks yellow panels on its wings in all plumages. Adult males have olive-greenish upper parts, yellow underparts, yellowish-green rumps, yellow supercilium and border behind ear-coverts. Wing and tail feathers of this bird species are broadly differentiated by a yellowish-green color. Adult females of this species have black streaking on darker greyish-green upper parts, more clearly defined wing-bars than their male counterparts, paler yellowish throats and black-flanked breasts with streaking. Juveniles are duller green, tinged brownish-buff on upper parts, with duller rumps, buff fringes to greater coverts and paler or heavily streaked underparts.
This species is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal. Its natural habitat is temperate forests. It spends the winter in the central and eastern Himalayas. A group of birders from West Bengal discovered its presence in Hee Village near Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Sikkim, India in the month of March 2013.
Tibetan serins generally breed in mixed forest and spend their winter in alder.
Their soft chattering sound is much like twangtwang.
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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 pine siskin is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range.
The citril finch, also known as the Alpine citril finch, is a small songbird, a member of the true finch family, Fringillidae. For a long time, this cardueline finch was placed in the genus Serinus, but it is apparently very closely related to the European goldfinch.
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.
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The yellow canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in much of the western and central regions of southern Africa and has been introduced to Ascension and St Helena islands.
The Cape siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the southern Cape Province of South Africa.
The brimstone canary or bully canary is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is a resident breeder in central and southern Africa.
The Drakensberg siskin is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is an endemic resident breeder in the eastern Cape Province Transkei and western Natal in South Africa, and in Lesotho.
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.
The black-chinned siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. Found in Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands, its natural habitats are temperate forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The thick-billed siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. Found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.
The olivaceous siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and heavily degraded former forest.
The saffron siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat destruction and the IUCN has assessed it as being a "least concern species".
The Andean siskin is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, 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-rumped seedeater, yellow-rumped serin or Abyssinian yellow-rumped seedeater is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Crithagra is a genus of small passerine birds in the finch family (Fringillidae). They live in Africa and Arabia.
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 name is from the Ancient Greek σπίνοςspínos, a name for a now-unidentifiable bird.