Yellow-faced siskin

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Yellow-faced siskin
Carduelis yarrellii.JPG
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Subfamily: Carduelinae
Genus: Spinus
Species:
S. yarrellii
Binomial name
Spinus yarrellii
(Audubon, 1839)
Spinus yarrellii map.svg
Synonyms

Sporagra yarrellii
Carduelis yarrellii

The yellow-faced siskin (Spinus yarrellii) is a species of finch in the family Fringillidae. It is found in Brazil and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist mountains, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, arable land, plantations, and urban areas.

Contents

Taxonomy

The yellow-faced siskin was formally described in 1839 by the Franco-American ornithologist John James Audubon under the binomial name Carduelis yarrellii. [3] Audubon had illustrated the male and female birds in his The Birds of North America . [4] He mistakenly specified the type locality as "Northern California" but this was re-designated in 1926 by the American ornithologist W. E. Clyde Todd as the Brazilian state of Bahia. [5] [6] [7] Audubon chose the specific epithet to honour the English naturalist and bookseller William Yarrell. [8] [9] The yellow-faced siskin is now one of 20 finches placed in the genus Spinus that was introduced by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1816. [10] A phylogenetic study published in 2015 found that the yellow-faced siskin was most closely related to the hooded siskin (Spinus magellanicus). [11] No subspecies are recognised. [10]

Description

The yellow-faced siskin is sexually dimorphic with the male having a black crown. Both sexes have a bright yellow body with an olive back and black and yellow wings; the legs are pink and the tail is black on top and white underneath. Like other birds in its genus, it has a cone-shaped bill adapted to hold and shell seeds. The amount of black on the males head can vary with the lores and ear coverts also being black on some birds. Its call is a complex and melodious warble much like the calls of other relatives like the pine siskin and American goldfinch.

Distribution

The yellow-faced siskin has a spotty distribution throughout Southeastern Brazil in the states of Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, and Bahia. There is also a disjunct population in northern Venezuela, though many authorities consider these to be escaped cage birds; However, specimens of this population were collected there in 1914.

Behaviour and habitat

The yellow-faced siskins diet mainly consists of small seeds but also feeds on berries and insects. Its nest is cup shaped and mainly made out of grasses, spider webs, and hairs. Despite its small range, it occurs in a wide range of habitats including caatinga, urban areas, forest edges, second growth forests, and coffee plantations.

Status

The yellow-faced siskin is currently ranked as vulnerable by the IUCN due to its heavy exploitation by the illegal bird trade which, along with deforestation pose serious risks to the bird. While the bird has always been semi-popular in the bird trade, increased trapping since the 1980s has seen a sharp decline in the birds population. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finch</span> Family of birds

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American goldfinch</span> Species of bird

The American goldfinch is a small North American bird in the finch family. It is migratory, ranging from mid-Alberta to North Carolina during the breeding season, and from just south of the Canada–United States border to Mexico during the winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European goldfinch</span> Species of bird

The European goldfinch or simply the goldfinch is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western and central Asia. It has been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay and the United States.

<i>Carduelis</i> Genus of birds

The genus Carduelis is a group of birds in the finch family Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine siskin</span> Species of bird

The pine siskin is a North American bird in the finch family. It is a migratory bird with an extremely sporadic winter range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citril finch</span> Species of bird

The citril finch, also known as the Alpine citril finch, is a small songbird, a member of the true finch family, Fringillidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser goldfinch</span> Species of bird

The lesser goldfinch is a small finch in the genus Spinus native to the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence's goldfinch</span> Species of bird

Lawrence's goldfinch is a small songbird of erratic distribution that breeds in California and Baja California and winters in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-bellied siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hooded siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thick-billed siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivaceous siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saffron siskin</span> Species of bird

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andean siskin</span> Species of bird

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-breasted greenfinch</span> Species of bird

The yellow-breasted greenfinch is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae that is native to the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tibetan serin</span> Species of bird

The Tibetan serin or Tibetan siskin is a true finch species.

<i>Spinus</i> (bird) Genus of birds

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.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Spinus yarrellii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22720368A132137806. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22720368A132137806.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. Audubon, John James (1839). A Synopsis of the Birds of North America. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black. p. 117.
  4. Audubon, John James (1838). The Birds of America; from original drawing. Vol. IV. London: Published by the author. Plate 433, Fig. 4 male, Fig 5 female.
  5. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 240.
  6. Todd, W.E. Clyde (1926). "A study of the neotropical finches of the genus Spinus". Annals of the Carnegie Museum. 17: 11-82 [32].
  7. Grinnell, Joseph (1932). "Type Localities of Birds Described from California" (PDF). University of California Publications in Zoology. 38 (3): 322-323.
  8. Jobling, James A. "yarrellii". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  9. Jackson, Christine E (2022). A Newsworthy Naturalist: The Life of William Yarrell. Oxford: John Beaufoy. pp. 115–118. ISBN   978-1913679-04-0.
  10. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Finches, euphonias". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  11. Beckman, Elizabeth J.; Witt, Christopher C. (2015). "Phylogeny and biogeography of the New World siskins and goldfinches: Rapid, recent diversification in the Central Andes". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 87: 28–45. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.03.005.