Classification
Order — Passeriformes.
Family — Fringillidae.
Genus — Spinus.
Species — Spinus spinus.
Habitat
These siskins breed in Europe from northern Scandinavia, west and south through Great Britain, where they are resident from southern England to northern Scotland, but are most numerous in Scotland and Wales.
Their range stretches south through Europe to northern and central Spain, Corsica, northern and southern Italy and Balkans to northern Greece, and east from Baltic and eastern Poland through central parts of western Russia, north central Kazakhstan and western Siberia to the upper Ob River (occasionally to the Yenisey River), as well as south from Ukraine, western Caucasus and northwestern and northern Turkey east to northern Iran and Iraq. In Russia they also occur in the far east from the Baikal lake and Yablonovy mountains, east to Transbaikalia, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, central Kamchatka, Ussuriland, Sakhalin Island and northeastern China (northern Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang). They also occur in northern Japan (central and eastern Hokkaido).
Migratory flocks travel south for the winter to northwestern Cyprus, Africa, northern and central Israel, southwestern Iran, northern Mongolia, Korea, southern Japan, eastern and southern China and Taiwan.
Siskins tend to seek out very different wintering localities each year, wintering wherever they expect good amounts of seed crops.
Vagrants are occasionally seen in North America.
Outside the breeding season, they will often form large mixed feeding flocks - often together with Redpolls.
Outward appearance
Length (including their short, forked tails): 4.3 - 4.9 in (11 - 12.5 cm).
Wingspan: 7.9 - 9.1 in (20 - 23 cm).
Weigh: 0.35 - 0.63 oz (10 - 18 g).
Males:
Back is mostly greyish green.
Face and rump are yelow.
There is a black cap on the head; and a variable black bib (chin patch).
Plumage is yellow on the chest turning grey-streaked towards the vent.
Wings are black with a yellow wing bar.
Tail is black with yellow sides.
Females and juveniles:
Plumage is more olive-colored.
Head and with no cap.
The center of the abdomen and lower chest are often largely or entirely unstreaked.
The strong and narrow bill is perfectly adapted for picking up the seeds on which they feed.
Legs and feet are dark brown.
Eyes are dark / black.
Flight is similar to that of other finches - rapid and bounding.
Character
Eurasian siskins normally are peaceful birds, but can become somewhat aggressive when nesting. If you're breeding in a cage instead of a large, well-planted aviary with lots of cover, you may need to separate the male from the female once she starts laying.
Maintenance care
Eurasian Siskins are probably more likely to stay in shape in a large, well-planted walk-in aviary that they can share with other compatible birds. Watch your step when you enter the aviary to feed them, as theses friendly birds have been reported to gather at their owner's feet. However, if you wish to breed them for show or to develop color mutations, you may have better luck if you place each pair in its own spacious breeding cage or flight.
Feeding
Siskins mostly feed on seeds of trees - especially of alders, conifers, elms, birch and poplars; various flowering plants (thistles, dandelions, Artemisia, knapweeds and goosefoots / Chenopodium) and herbs, including St. John's wort, meadowsweet and sorrel. Groups of siskins are often seen visiting cultivated areas and pastures to feed on grain. They will also readily take advantage of bird feeders.
These acrobatic feeders are often observed in trees hanging upside-down as they try to reach food items. They are highly agile and adept at using their feet to bring hanging food into reach. They generally feed in trees, avoiding eating on the ground.
They also take insects (mainly beetles). In particular during the breeding season when raising chicks, the protein from insects is important to support the chick's rapid growth.
Breeding
Pairs usually form during the winter before the breeding season and before migration.
Males will compete aggressively for females, performing courtship rituals that include making mating flights from tree to tree, plumping up the feathers on the head and rump to make themselves look bigger; extending their tails and singing to the desired females.
Most breeding activities occur in spring, from March to August.
Siskins form small nesting colonies of up to six pairs. The small, bowl-shaped nests are usually placed in hidden locations at the end of relatively high branches in trees, such as conifers, afirs, Scotch Pines and Corsican Pines (whatever is found in the range they are in). The nests of the different pairs are usually located close to each other. The nests are constructed out of small twigs, dried grasses, moss and lichen and lined with down.
The average clutch consists of 2 - 6 eggs that range in color from white to light grey or light blue with small brown spots. The eggs are incubated by the female alone for about 10 - 14 days. The first hatchlings occur in mid-April. The newly-hatched are relatively immobile, lack any down, are blind and completely depend on their parents for warmth, nutrition and protection. The young leave the nest when they are about 15 days old in a semi-feathered condition, and remain close to the nest for up to a month at which point, their plumage is complete and they are ready to disperse.
Siskins often start on a second brood from the middle of June up to the middle of July.
These finches are also popular with aviculturists for their pleasing appearance and nice songs. They are easy to care for and adapt well to life in captivity. However, they do not breed as well as in the wild.
They will readily interbreed with some other finches (such as canaries). Hybridization also occurs in the wild, sometimes as a result of escapes or releases of captive birds.
Diseases
Salmonella, Trichomoniasis, Aspergillosis, Avian pox, Mites and Lice, Lyme Disease.
