The black-chinned siskin (''Spinus barbatus'') is a species of
finch in the family
Fringillidae. Found in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
, its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s are temperate
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s and heavily degraded former forest.
Description
The black-chinned siskin grows to a length of about . The male has the crown and the centre of the upper throat black. The rest of the head and the upper parts of the body are yellowish-olive streaked with black. The rump is yellow and the wings are black with two yellowish bars and a yellow patch on the primary feathers. The underparts are greenish-yellow and the belly is white. The appearance of the female is similar to the male but the colouring is more muted. She lacks the black on head and throat. The head and back are a greyish-olive above with pale yellowish-olive underparts and a whitish belly. The only other bird with which it is likely to be confused is the
hooded siskin
The hooded siskin (''Spinus magellanicus'') 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''.
There are 11 subspeci ...
(''Spinus magellanica''); however, that bird is not found so far south, the male has a larger area of black on head and throat, and the female has a yellow rump.
Distribution and habitat
The black-chinned siskin is native to southern Chile and southern Argentina as far south as
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...
, and also the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
.
[ It ranges up to about in altitude and inhabits the edges of forests, light woodland and bushy areas, including gardens and urban areas; it is usually seen in flocks and often feeds on the ground.][
]
Phylogeny
The phylogeny of this species has been researched by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et al. Evidence of hybridization was found between ''Serinus canaria domestica'' and ''S. barbatus'' in captivity.
Status
The black-chinned siskin is a common species with a very wide range and the population seems to be stable, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has rated its conservation status as being of 'least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
'.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10820714
black-chinned siskin
Birds of Chile
Birds of Patagonia
Birds of the Falkland Islands
black-chinned siskin
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot