Eurasian Siskin    Spinus spinus

Etymology: 

• Spinus: Latin word spinos, a name for a now-unidentifiable bird
• Spinus: Latin word spinos, a name for a now-unidentifiable bird

Distribution in India: Vagrant in India (In Himalayas espl North East) .

Description: Size of 11–12 cm; weight of 10·1–18·5 g. It is a small, greenish-yellow finch with fine bill, bright yellow wingbars and slightly forked tail. The male has black cap from forehead and lores to hindcrown, bright yellow supercilium from above eye to rear of ear-coverts and side of neck. It has a short, fine blackish eyestripe, olive-yellow cheek fading into greyish-olive or olive-green ear-coverts. The upper nape is green or greenish-yellow (feathers may be tipped grey or blackish). The lower nape to back and scapulars are olive-green (duller in non-breeding season). It is streaked broadly blackish on mantle to scapulars, rump is bright yellow, becoming unstreaked yellowish-green on uppertail-coverts. The tail is black, edged rich yellow at sides of base forming two prominent panels. The upperwing-coverts are tipped greenish-yellow on medians and broadly bright yellow on greater. The alula, primary coverts and flight-feathers are black or blackish, yellow bases of inner primaries and of all secondaries extending along outer edge of feathers for half length, in flight, prominent wingbar across remiges. The tertials are black, fringed pale yellow or whitish. The chin is black, throat, breast and flanks are yellow, tinged green on side of breast and upper flanks and streaked broadly dark brown or blackish. The lower belly to undertail-coverts is white; iris is black; bill is dark-brown to greyish-horn, paler lower mandible; legs are dark brown.

The female lacks black cap of male, has greenish head (more greyish-green on forehead to crown) and upperparts heavily streaked blackish, rump and uppertail-coverts dark-streaked greenish-yellow, tips of median and greater upperwing-coverts variably pale yellowish-green, cream or whitish. The flight-feathers are edged very pale or dull yellow, tertials fringed creamy or white or lower tertial edged yellowish. It has a dull yellowish chin to breast and upper flanks, broadly streaked blackish to lower flanks, rest of underparts are white; in non-breeding season, head and upperparts are greyer and yellow areas in wing and tail duller or tinged greenish.

The juvenile is similar to female, but head and upperparts have much more buffish-brown with dark brown or blackish streaks, prominent pale buffish supercilium to side of neck, broad warm buff-brown tips on median and greater coverts (forming double wingbar), edges of flight-feathers are pale lime-green, off-white or dull greyish-buff below, spotted or streaked blackish. The juveniles can be sexed on the length of the black blotch on the second-outermost tail feather which is usually >30 mm in females and <25 mm in males.

The first-winter male is like adult, but more heavily streaked above, with less yellow at base of flight-feathers, much paler wing-covert bars.

Habitat: It is found in breeding season in boreal and temperate lowland, submontane and montane conifer forests. In non-breeding season in similar habitats, also heaths, commons, orchards, weedy thickets, parks and gardens; particularly fond of riverine or lakeside alders, and in many parts of range alder and birch are very important winter foodplants. It is found from sea-level to 2000 m.

Food habits:  It eats seeds, buds and fruit; some invertebrates. It forages mostly in trees, including canopy of conifers, larches and alders, forages on ground during migration, and feeds often on ground in winter.

Breeding habits: They breed in Feb/Mar–Aug, timing dependent on cone crop. They lay two broods, but only one in years with poor cone crop. They are monogamous. The male performs stiff-winged but rapid flight over prospective breeding territory. The pair-forming usually takes place before break-up of winter flocks; displaying male faces female, ruffles black crown and droops quivering wings showing yellow rump, fluffs out breast and slowly raises and spreads tail, while giving subdued song. The display also includes bill-touching or bill-flirting, mate-guarding and courtship-feeding; chases of female by male often to good height or twisting through trees often a prelude to mating. The nest is built by female, male may assist in collection of material. The nest is a small ball of conifer twigs, bark strips, plant fibres, roots and down, heather, grass, moss, lichens, animal hair, feathers and cobwebs, placed above ground against trunk or in outer branches of tall tree. They lay a clutch of 3–5 eggs. The eggs are pale bluish-white to blue, blotched with rust-red or reddish-violet and spotted and scrawled with purple or blackish-brown. The incubation is done by female alone for a period of 12–13 days. The chicks are fed and cared for by both parents. The nestling period is 13–15 days.