The Pine Siskin is a nomadic songbird whose pattern is brown and streaky, with yellow accents seen on their wings and notched tail. Their slender bill is unique compared to those of other finches, and is used for eating buds, seeds and small insects (Sibley 2003). At times these very small (15 grams) birds can be easier to hear than to see, with a characteristic rising buzz (zhreeeeee) indicating their presence (Sibley 2003).
Distribution
Source: Dawson, W. R.. 2014. Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spinus_pinus_map.svg)
(Sighting map from eBird)
Pine Siskins are an irruptive species, meaning they can occur in high densities in unusual areas due to their irregular winter movements (Koenig 2001). They can be found in most parts of the U.S. and Canada.
Habitat
Favor open coniferous or mixed forests (Sibley 2014). Pine Siskins may also be found foraging in shrubs and weeds. More urban areas may also house Pine Siskins, as they will travel most anywhere if they suspect food may be found.
Food Habits
Pine Siskins mostly eat small seeds, plant parts and small insects. Specifically, alder, birch, thistle, and spruce seeds make up most of its diet (Sibley 2014).
Sounds
“…listen for a distinctive, harsh “watch-winding” call (also likened to the sound of slowly tearing a sheet of paper in two)” (Cornell).
Call:
James Link, XC582375. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/582375.
(Recording by James Link for Evergreen’s SURF project summer 2020. Image cropped from Xeno-canto Sonogram provided on above webpage)
Call and Song (Holmes 2016)
Group Call and Song (St-Michel 2016)
Behavior
Pine Siskins can often be found at the tops of conifer trees, sometimes feeding at cones while hanging upside down. Almost always found in flocks, sometimes with goldfinches (Sibley 2014).
Literature Cited
David Horn, Johansen, S., & Wilcoxen, T. (2014). Seed and Feeder Use by Birds in the United States and Canada. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 38(1), 18–25.
Koenig, W. (2001). Synchrony and Periodicity of Eruptions by Boreal Birds. The Condor,103(4), 725-735.
Russel, R., Royle, A., Saab, V., Lehmkuhl, J., Block, W., & Sauer, J. (2009). Modeling the Effects of Environmental Disturbance on Wildlife Communities: Avian Responses to Prescribed Fire. Ecological Applications, 19(5), 1253–1263.
Senar, J. C., Mateos-Gonzalez, F., Uribe, F., & Arroyo, L. (2013). Familiarity adds to attractiveness in matters of siskin mate choice. Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 280(1773), 1–7.
Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley guide to birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, USA.
Strong, C., Zuckerberg, B., Betancourt, J., & Koenig, W. (2015). Climatic dipoles drive two principal modes of North American boreal bird irruption. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(21), E2795–E2802.
Watson, M., Wells, J., & Bavis, R. (2011). First Detection of Night Flight Calls by Pine Siskins. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 123(1), 161–164.
Population Trends and Conservation Issues
Due to the Pine Siskin’s irruptive nature, population trends can be difficult to interpret. Partners in Flight has labeled the Pine Siskin as a Common Bird in Steep Decline, with populations having decreased by 80% since 1970. Note however that the Pine Siskin’s total population is still a healthy 38 million. Some common threats to a Siskin’s livelihood are domestic cats, other larger birds (crows, hawks) and losing their natural habitat of coniferous forests.
Author
Page edited by James Link 8/22/2020 adding just a sound file.
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