The red siskin (''Spinus cucullatus'') is a small endangered finch native to tropical South America - in northern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, northern Venezuela (where it is called the "cardenalito") and

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. It was common in the early 20th century, occurring throughout the foothills of northern Venezuela, but has now become extremely rare in a fragmented range. The population on Trinidad is believed to be extirpated, with no sightings since 1960.

Habitat

The red siskin is found in open country, forest edges and grassland with trees or shrubs. The female is believed to lay three greenish-white eggs in a grassy cup nest in a tree.

Description

The red siskin is about 10 cm long. The male is mainly deep red, with black on the head, throat, flight feathers and tail tip, and a whitish lower belly and under tail. The female is grey on the head, breast, and upper parts, apart from a red rump and upper tail. The breast is grey with reddish flanks, and the rest of the underparts, the wings and tail resemble the corresponding areas of the male. Immature females are paler than the adults, and immature males are brown rather than red.

Call

The call is a high-pitched chitter and sharp ''chi-tit'' like the

Indian silverbill The Indian silverbill or white-throated munia (''Euodice malabarica'') is a small passerine bird found in the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining regions that was formerly considered to include the closely related African silverbill (''Euodice cant ...

, and the male's song is a musical goldfinch-like melody with twitters and trills.

Diet

Red siskins eat seeds and are highly gregarious. When they were more numerous, they formed semi-nomadic flocks.

Conservation

This siskin has been illegally trapped for the cage bird trade and endangered by environmental factors. Domestication has probably been responsible for the continuation of the species, which might otherwise be extinct. This is an attractive finch with a pleasant song, and its unique coloration for a small finch has led to it being used for interbreeding with domestic canaries to produce varieties with red in the plumage.

Conservation status

The red siskin is listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List and nationally critically endangered in Venezuela. It is listed on CITES Appendix I. The greatest threat to the species has been intense illegal trapping for the bird trade since the 1940s, however the species also faces extensive habitat loss. Some hope has been given to this highly endangered species by the discovery in 2003 of a population of several thousand birds in southern

, 1000 km from any previously known colony. Otherwise, the world population is believed to be between 600-6,000 pairs. Researchers at the

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) is a unit of the Smithsonian Institution located on a campus located just outside the town of Front Royal, Virginia. An extension of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the SCBI has played ...

lead a program, the Red Siskin Initiative, with the goals of uncovering more about this species and preventing its extinction. The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, PA has a captive breeding program for the species.

References

*''Birds of Venezuela'' by Hilty, * *''Finches and sparrows'' by Clement, Harris and Davis,

External links

Birdlife International fact page
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075875 Spinus (genus) Birds of Colombia Birds of the Guianas Birds of Venezuela Birds of Trinidad and Tobago Birds of Puerto Rico Birds of the Caribbean Birds described in 1820 Taxa named by William John Swainson Species endangered by the pet trade